


The Love of A Dragon

by Eleora



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dragons, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-18 22:04:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11299764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleora/pseuds/Eleora
Summary: Eleora Agondray doesn't remember who her parents were, or much about her past in fact. But thanks to the kindness of an innkeeper and his adventure loving son, the feisty, beautiful, little nord has everything she's ever needed. When a mead pickup in Helgen goes awry, Ellie is in for the adventure of her life! Will she rise to the challenge and become the hero she was always destined to be? Or will her past hold her back, and if so, can the love of a certain broody nord save her as she strives to save all of Nirn? (I don't own Skyrim or it's characters, only the characters that I- you know the rest. Give it a shot!)





	1. Chapter 1

Fire. Everything around me is set ablaze. The smoke is suffocating me, scratching my throat and blinding me. I can barely breathe. I rub my eyes with my small hands, as I cough and wheeze. The heat is unbearable, and I can't stop crying. I scream for help. I scream for mother. I can hear the sound of laughter over the roar of the fire. I don't understand. Why are they laughing, when I need to get out of the burning house? I hear her scream out my name.

"Eleora!"

"Mama!" I yell back.

The side of a wall collapses, making a hole big enough for me to escape out of. I make a run for it and crawl out of the tiny hole. I hit the ground hard, struggling to stand. The sudden coldness of the snow stuns me for a moment. Fresh air hits my face and I painfully breathe it in. A piece of wood that helped support the ceiling falls and hits me on the head. I fall over on the ground, my vision blurring. I see someone swinging from a tree by a rope. I don't understand. I feel awfully sleepy and weak, I try to keep my eyes open.

I hear mama scream again. A long wail that reminds me of the howl of a hurt wolf. Out of the corner of my eye I notice movement. I see her! I see Mama. I see men in steel armor pushing her to the ground. They grab her hair, her arms, and her legs. At least six men are pinning her down.

"Don't hurt my mama!" I try to yell. But it's no use. They don't hear my feeble attempts to stop them. They start ripping her clothes off, their laughter growing louder. I don't understand what they're doing to her. But I know it's wrong. I try to crawl towards her but I hurt all over.

The man pushes himself between her legs and starts grinding into her. Mother's yells are painful. She screams at them to stop. They don't.

She suddenly stops screaming. She stops fighting and she lies still, as each man takes their turn getting in between her legs. She stares up into the starry night, her eyes lifeless and her expression blank. Her beautiful face dirty with soot, and streaked with her tears. One of the men slaps her across her face, but she doesn't cry, or yell, or even wince. Her empty eyes find mine. And life pools into them for a brief moment. Time slows and nothing else in the world matters. I try to pick my head up to see her better, but it falls back to the ground. She smiles the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. All of the sunsets that we've watched, all of the rainbows that we've followed, and all of the butterflies that we've chased were put into that smile. My eyes start to close... no not yet. I can't sleep yet. I blink once. Her lips are moving. She mouths something to me. I blink twice. I close my eyes, not able to hear anything anymore. And then I plunge into the peaceful darkness, the simple nothingness, slowly at first and then all at once.

I love you too, mama.

I jerk up from my bed, now in a sitting position. The cool breeze feels even cooler against the wet stains on my cheeks. I'm trembling. I wipe my cheeks and the beads of sweat that formed on my forehead. The bed creaks as I swing my legs over the edge, letting my face fall into my hands. I sit like that until a knock on the door captures my attention.

"Ellie?" Erik calls from the other side of the door. The door slowly creaks open and he pokes his head in. He frowns when he sees me. "Did you have the dream again?" He asks me concerned. I nod my head and sigh.

"You know, it must be a terrible dream if I wake up with tear stained cheeks every single time," I say, "I wish I could just remember the damn dream." I mutter. He enters my room, closing the door behind him. He kneels in front of me, until his face is level with mine, his expression is sympathetic. He wipes my cheeks with his thumbs, and gives me a small smile.

"Maybe it's a good thing you don't remember. If it's that terrible, do you really want to know?" He asks. I look away from his compassionate gaze.

"I suppose not." I answer him. Even though it's not true. I want to know what I dream about. Maybe- maybe I can come to terms with it and it'll help me sleep better at night… I don't know. He taps me on the nose and gives me a bright smile. He stands up and heads for the door.

"Are you ready to go? Father said we should get going soon." His eyes are bright with excitement. Erik loves adventuring, and leaps at every opportunity to get out of Rorikstead. He's been this way since we were children. I even came up with the name, Erik the Slayer, for him when we were children. His excitement is contagious and I forget all about my bad dream.

"Yes, just let me get into my armor." I stand and walk over to my chest and pull out my iron armor that Mralki bought for me. Erik and I saved up whatever gold, silver, and copper we could find for armor. We would help Reldith on her farm. We would do extra chores around the inn that Erik's father owned. Mralki is against our adventuring. He hates it when we leave. But I know it's just because he worries for us. The Frostfruit Inn wasn't doing so good one winter, and Erik and I decided to help out his dad by giving him all of our savings. We were able to save the Inn, but there went all of our savings. Two summers later, Mralki surprised us with two sets of iron armor and two iron swords. The excitement and joy we felt that day is indescribable.

The sound of the door closing pulls me from my memories. I dress quickly and pin my long ash brown hair up. No matter how I pinned my hair there was always flyaways, and tendrils of curls that framed my face and fell behind my neck.

I sheath my sword, and exit my room into the main room of the Inn. Erik is leaning against the counter talking to his dad as he wipes down the bar.

"Remember. Straight to Helgen to pick up the mead with juniper berries mixed in that Vilod always talks about in his letters that he sends." Mralki instructs Erik. I giggle as I see Erik's face. As usual Mralki's orders went in through one ear and out the other. Mralki knows this all too well. "I mean it, Erik. No heroics. And watch over Eleora."

"I can watch over myself, thank you." I jest as I walk over to stand beside Erik. The hardness in Mralki's eyes melts when I smile at him. Erik turns to me his arms crossed as he smirks.

"She's right. She's capable of handling herself. I'm the one that needs to be looked after." He says playfully. I grin at him.

"Ain't that the truth." Mralki mutters under his breath. I burst out laughing.

"Hey!" Erik exclaims. "I was only joking." He pouts. Mralki shakes his head at his son.

"Of course you were son. Of course you were." Mralki says as he bends over to grab something from behind the counter. "Here," he says as he hands us a knapsack, "There's 30 gold in there for the both of you. It should cover you for a night at the Bannered Mare, in Whiterun. I also packed four health potions, two apples, a loaf of bread, four cheese wedges, cooked beef, two handfuls of berries, two sweetrolls, two ales, and two meads." Mralki explains. "It should last you until Whiterun."

"I think it'll last us the whole trip to Helgen, there and back." Erik says sarcastically. Mralki grimaces. Whenever we went out, Mralki always made sure we were well supplied for our journey. It warms my heart that he cares so much for us. I smile at Mralki.

"I call dibs on the sweetrolls!" I exclaim. Erik scoffs and glares at me.

"You ate both of them without me knowing the last time! There's no way I'm letting you eat mine again." Erik argues. Mralki laughs as Erik and I bicker.

"Alright you two. Go get my mead." He sighs with a smile. Erik is already walking towards the door.

"I'll see you later, Pa!" Erik yells and waves, leaving me behind. I turn to see a sad expression on Mralki's face. He really worries for us when we leave. I run up to him, hug him, and give him a peck on the cheek.

"We'll be back before you know it!" I smile. He returns the hug, tightly. He let's go and smiles. Watching as we walk towards the door. I hear him say something before I reach the door.

"Gods, watch over them."

I close the door to the Inn and turn to see Erik standing at the stairs. He takes a deep breath in and exhales.

"What a beautiful morning for an adventure." He says enthusiastically. I roll my eyes and grin at him. Before I can open my mouth to respond I hear the pitter-patter of little feet running towards us. I glance up in time to see Sissel running from Britte.

"You're gonna get it Sissel!" Britte yells. The expression on Sissel's face is heartbreaking. Anger rises in my chest and I start grinding my teeth. Erik follows my line of vision and frowns.

"Why? What did I do?" Sissel yells back breathlessly. Britte snorts.

"I told you to weed the garden by sunset, and you didn't do it. Now you're in big trouble." She yells at Sissel. Sissel runs past me and keeps running to find a hiding spot from Britte.

"Papa told YOU to do that, not me! Now leave me alone!" Sissel exclaims. Britte, however, stops in front of me.

"If you beat up my sister, Sissel, I won't tell." Britte whispers to me and Erik. I raise my hand to slap her but Erik catches my arm. Britte runs away and searches for Sissel once again. I turn to face Erik, angry, and tears prickling the back of my eyes..

"Why-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"They get enough of that from their father, Ellie. Don't you think?" He calmly enunciates, as he let's go of my arm. I suddenly feel like skeever droppings.

"Yes, but Sissel gets it the worst and her soul is one of the kindest out there." I half shout at Erik. He lets out an annoyed sigh and grabs my wrist, pulling me with him along the road towards Whiterun. He lets go of me when I stop struggling against him. He finally breaks the silence.

"I know how you feel, Ellie. Trust me." He says softly. When I no longer feel the threat of tears wanting to escape, I respond.

"One of these days I'm going to take Sissel away from here." I say quietly. Erik stops and turns to look at me.

"What about Britte?" He asks.

"She's awful. She's mean, and cold, and- and…" I say trailing off. Erik studies me for a moment. His piercing hazel eyes staring deep into mine. It overwhelms me when he does that.

"Sometimes, people like Britte are the ones that need love the most." He says while staring deeply into my eyes. He's right. As if he feels the message got across, he turns and begins walking again.

We walk in silence for a long while, until he speaks again. "Broken Fang Cave is just a little ways ahead." He implies, wanting to start a new conversation and get rid of the negativity from earlier.

"I told you to leave me alone!" A woman's voice drifts towards us. Erik and I exchange wary looks and pick up the pace. We see two Alik'r warriors speaking to a Redguard woman. When Erik and I approach, they begin to walk away.

"Hey!" I shout. "What's going on here?" I demand as I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at them.

"Foreigners, what a nuisance." The Redguard woman gripes.

"We're looking for a Redguard woman, we think she's hiding somewhere in Whiterun." One of the warriors simply says. A new flame of anger flickers inside of me. So that just gives them the right to corner and antagonize whoever they want? Before I could rip them a new one, they're already walking away.

"Are you alright? What was that all about?" Erik asks the woman.

"They thought I was some other Redguard woman! They wouldn't just leave me alone." She huffs, and begins to walk away. "I hope they get lost in the wilderness." She mutters under her breath. Erik and I watch her storm off, glance at each other and shrug.

We continue walking and see Broken Fang Cave. Before I could say anything, Erik whispers quietly under his breath. I barely hear him.

"Just keep walking no matter what." I look up at him confused. What's wrong? He's staring straight ahead, relaxed expression.

"What's a milk drinker like you doing out here?" A Nord woman clad in iron armor like ours, asks. She towers over me. Well a lot of people do. I'm unusually short for a Nord woman. But she's tall, even for a Nord. She's probably the same height as Erik. Just like he said, we continue to walk past her without acknowledging her. Honestly, things like this don't bother me. I'm great at ignoring people like her. "Go home to your mother." She huffs, disappointed that we didn't stoop to her level. My back stiffens and I stop dead in my tracks, turning to face her. Nobody talks about my mother. I don't know why, but for some reason, I completely lose it when someone speaks ill of my unknown mother. Before Erik can grab me, I walk up to her and get in her face.

"You shouldn't talk to us like that." I growl, having to look up to her. The bitch has the audacity to smile.

"Why? What are you going to do, cry?" She taunts me. I smile a slow menacing smile. She has no idea. Erik walks up behind me and grabs my arms, tugging me away from her. I don't take my eyes off of her.

"We don't have time for this." He warns me. He spins me around and practically drags me away. The Nord woman doesn't appreciate that and screams.

"Don't you walk away from me!" The sound of her sword being drawn puts me in a frenzy. All the anger pent up inside of me is rearing to be released. I turn while drawing my sword out in time to stop a blow from behind. Our swords collide, causing sparks. The loud metallic clang echos through the trees, bouncing off the rocks. Our faces are inches apart, the woman and I lock eyes. I let out a feral growl and push her back. Surprised, she staggers back a couple of steps. Not expecting me to have the strength to do that. I hear Erik draw his sword too.

"No!" I yell at him but not taking my eyes off her. "She's mine." I snarl. Erik doesn't make an attempt at her, but he still has his weapon drawn. I swing at her and she blocks it with her shield. The Nord bashes me with her shield, and takes another swing. I block it with my sword, causing more sparks to fly. Our swords clash as we swing and block each others attacks. She has brute strength, but I have speed and agility. Our swords connect again once more, her sword slides down mine towards the hilt and she manages to slice my arm with as she withdraws. I hiss and grab my arm. I look down at my bloody hand. I think about Sissel, and her abusive family. I think about the Alik'r warriors pestering that woman, and how this Nord has nothing better to do than bully others. I let out a scream as I rush the woman and swing my sword. She staggers back and I use the opportunity to shove my blade through her stomach. Her eyes widen with surprise and she lets out a choked sob. Blood spurts from her mouth. I spin and swing my blade across her neck, decapitating her. Putting an end to her suffering.

I stand there for what seems like an eternity, breathing hard, staring at the lifeless body.

"Feel better?" Erik asks. I sheathe my sword and sigh. I wish I didn't have to take her life, but she wasn't going to stop until one of our lives ended. And it wasn't going to be mine.

"Much." I respond. Erik takes out some clean linen and bandages my arm. "I'm fine, you know I don't need that... it's just a scratch." Erik ignores me and focuses on bandaging my arm. He pulls out a health potion and hands it to me. "Seriously?" I ask.

"Just take sip at least." He sighs. I open the bottle and take a swig of the fizzy potion, instantly feeling a lot better. I the close bottle and shove it into my knapsack. Erik checks the Nord womans' body for anything valuable we could use. He takes her iron war axe, a brown cloak, a few gold pieces, and a health potion. He hands me the cloak and tells me to put it on. My Nord blood helps me resist the cold, but I still take it anyway.

We continue walking again. "Gods, so much has happened already and we're not even halfway to Whiterun yet." He jabbers. That's just the way things are here in Skyrim. It's a dog eat dog world. I wish it weren't so. But it is. Erik and I realized a long time ago that we're strong. We have the strength to stand up for ourselves. And we made a pact to stand up for those that couldn't stand up for themselves. I glance at him and catch him staring at the tall mountains. His face peaceful. He really loves adventuring.

We pass Bloated Man's Grotto and see a pack of wolves lurking in the tall grass watching a giant and a cow painted with blue markings. Whatever that's all bout. Erik and I stop and crouch, and get ready for the show. The wolves make their move and attack the giant. They're no match for the giant. We watch as the wolves fly in the air and feel the vibrations of the giants club hit the ground. It was crazy to watch.

"We should take the wolf pelts and sell them." Erik suggests. I nod in agreement. After we're sure the giant is gone. Erik gets his dagger and gets to work on skinning the wolves. I, on the other hand, sit back and eat a sweetroll. I watch Erik work with his blade, I'd offer to help but I'd probably just get in the way.

Erik washes his hands in a nearby pond and rolls up the wolf pelts, setting them on his backpack. He glances at me, raises a brow and smiles.

"Ready?" I ask. He nods and does a double take.

"If you ate my sweetroll... Gods, so help me, Ellie!" He shouts. I give him a sweet smile and show him his sweetroll. He exhales and relaxes. "Good." What he doesn't know is that I plan on taking it at the Bannered Mare.

The sun is starting to go down, painting the tall trees and fields in orangey-pinks. The winds caress and tickle the the tall grass, causing the fields to look like an ocean. The sound of the birds, the rustling grass, and a waterfall in the distance calms my heart. Skyrim is the only place I've ever known. I never want to leave. It's utterly gorgeous.

"Hey!" My eyes fall on three Imperial soldiers resting on a boulder. "Any one of you have an ale or mead you're willing to share." I reach into my pack and toss over an ale. The man catches it and smiles. "Thanks, lass! Divines bless you." He calls out. I smile and nod, continuing to walk.

"That was nice of you." Erik comments. I forgot that he doesn't care for the Empire. Me personally, I don't care for the war, period. I think all of this unnecessary violence and bloodshed is dumb. I peek at Erik for a second, his jaw muscles twitch.

"I'm a nice person." I respond quietly. I don't want him mad at me.

"Just be careful." He warns. I frown at him completely confused now. What did I do? He tenses when I look at him. The unasked question lingering in the air.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Ellie… It's just sometimes people will take that for more than just simple kindness." He explains uncomfortably. "You didn't see the way they were looking at you." He says softly. He doesn't look at me.

"I can take care of myself, Erik." I reiterate. He groans and looks at me.

"Ellie. Just… please? Be careful? If anything were to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do." He professes. And as if on cue, an arrow lands right in front of me. Confused, Erik and I look up from our conversation and see the marksman sitting on the edge of the battlements.

"Hey pretty lassie, my bedroll is a little chilly! Why don't you come warm it up?" A bandit drunkenly yells from the battlements of Fort Greymoor. His friend pokes his head out from behind the stone rail the Ranger is sitting on, and waves his bottle of wine.

"Mine too!" They both begin laughing. I roll my eyes and turn to see Erik taking off his backpack and putting his on iron helmet. There's a fire lit in his eyes and I know something not good is about to happen. He begins walking towards the old fort. Oh no…

"Erik, wait! Stop!" I beg as I tug on his arm. It's useless though. He's too strong. The men suddenly perk up, watching Erik like the wolves watching the giant earlier.

"That's close enough!" The one sitting on the battelments exclaims. Erik grunts, ignoring him and continues stalking forward, and draws his sword. Shit! Shit! No telling how many bandits are holed up in this old fort. There's nothing I can do but follow Erik, and pray to the Gods that we don't die. I unsheathe my sword and listen to them blow on their horns.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you're enjoying the story. I went back to chapter one and added more/cleaned it up a bit, if you wanna go back and check it out. Drop them reviews. PM me. Make a pizza. Like my story. Do whatever you want. Also if you want to see any particular quests in here, I'm sure I could find a way to fit them into the story. So if you want to read a certain quest, don't be afraid to let me know. Lol byeeee.

Bandits pour out of the entrance of Fort Greymoor with weapons drawn and fierce expressions. Erik cuts through them like paper. I'm so confused as to why he's so angry and acting like this. He's normally the calm and collected one.

We push past the entrance and into the middle of the Fort, slaying our enemies one by one. Things slow down and Erik and I are back to back, shield and sword at the ready. Our breathing heavy and our senses on high alert.

We're surrounded.

At least ten bandits encircle us. A mixture of Nords, Dark elves, and Orcs, all with snarls on their face. The archer and the drunk are standing on the top of the battlements looking down at us. The archer has his bow drawn and aimed at me and Erik. Erik moves to stand between me and the archers line of sight.

"Well this is just perfect." I hiss at Erik. "Out of all the times you choose to be reckless, it's before I get the chance to take your sweetroll" He doesn't say anything, but the grip on his shield and sword tighten.

"Oy! Here's the deal." The drunk Dark elf calls out. "Ya leave us the lass and we'll give ya a five second head start." He slurs, pointing at Erik. Erik tenses and a low animalistic growl emanates from the back of his throat. I can't help or stop the laugh that bursts through my mouth.

"I digress! You'd be better off taking him and letting me go." I proclaim. The Dark elf ignores me. I shrug and then lower my voice so only the men in front of me can hear me. "Either way, I'm going to slaughter you all." I growl. An Orc and a Wood elf exchange concerned glances.

"So, what do ya say, lad?" The Dark elf calls to Erik.

"Over my dead body." Erik shouts. The Dark elf laughs and pretends to wipe a tear.

"Ah well, I tried." He sighs. "Kill him! Try not to damage the girl." He shouts. The archer lets out a strangled yell and lets an arrow lose shooting one of his bandit buddies. Confused, everyone looks back up at the archer in time to see an arrow tip protruding from his chest. We watch as he falls forward and lands with a hard thud on the ground. Everyone exchanges bewildered expressions. Erik doesn't let this opportunity go to waste, he immediately begins hacking and slashing away. I follow his lead. More arrows are fired at the bandits. When I have a second, I follow the line of the shot and see the Imperial soldiers from earlier, helping us out. The one I gave an ale to, is on his knee pointing an arrow right at me. He lets it loose and before I can flinch, the arrow zips by me and hits it mark right in the heart. The Orc falls like a sack right behind me. I turn to the soldier with a grateful look. He winks at me and returns to shooting down the bandits. I too return to fighting.

With the Imperials' help, we finish them off in no time. I hunch over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my bated breath. Erik rushes over to check on me.

"How's my favorite lass doing?" His tone soft and his expression amused. He reaches his hand out to touch me. I scoff at him and push hand away. Now standing to my full height and getting in his face. Much like the Nord woman from earlier, he has to look down at me.

"What in Oblivion were you thinking, Erik!" I shout at him and shove his shoulder. His amused expression rapidly fades. "You charge in here like a damn frost troll, with no plan of attack or escape." I continue. His expression sours, but he doesn't take his hazel eyes off of me. He watches me silently. "You big, stupid oaf! You could've gotten yourself hurt or worse!" He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and runs a hand through his long, sweaty, strawberry blonde hair.

Someone behind me clears their throat. I turn and see two of the Imperial soldiers standing awkwardly behind us. I take a deep breath to calm myself before I speak.

"Thank you for your timely rescue. We greatly appreciate it." I give him my best warm smile. The younger Imperial blushes and looks away. The one that I gave an ale too speaks again.

"Oh it was nothing, lass. If anything you and your friend here helped us out. We were on our way here from Solitude. We got reports that one of our men had been captured by some bandits and was being held hostage here at Fort Greymoor. Herrit went inside the Fort to check the area." He explains as he rests his hands on the top of his longbow.

"That's a shame." I respond. "I hope your man is alive." He nods his thanks and turns his attention to Erik.

"Say, son. Why did you charge in here with just the two of you? That was reckless and you could've gotten this girl hurt." Erik doesn't respond with so much as a grunt. What is his damn problem? If he thinks I'm done with him, he is very wrong. I return my attention to the soldier, and before I could protest about my well-being. His soldier calls out to him.

"Sir!" The soldier Herrit, I think was his name, rushes from the Fort. "I found an Imperial soldier corpse in the Fort. It was him, sir." Herrit reports, his voice laced with sadness. The Soldier looks down with a grimace.

"Damn. We were too late." He puts his bow over his shoulder and turns to his men. "Let's head out. Nothing we can do now but return to Solitude and await further instructions." The men bow their head and pound their chest. He turns to me and Erik one last time. "You'd better take better care of this here lass, or someone else will do a better job for you." He stresses to Erik. Again before I can argue, he speaks. "And thank you for the drink, lass. I will always remember your kindness and your beauty." He says with a bow of his head. I refrain from rolling my eyes. Instead I offer him a tight-lipped smile. He turns on his heels and leads his men back to Solitude.

When they're out of sight, I turn to face Erik again but he's not behind me, instead, he's going and looting things from the bodies. I cross my arms and watch him travel from body to body examining different items and deeming them worthy of keeping or not. When he finishes, he walks over to me with a heavier backpack and new steel weapons. I narrow my eyes, my nostrils flared and my lips are pressed in a tight line. He stares at me with an expressionless face waiting for me to explode. But I don't. I relax and uncross my arms.

"Just… just tell me why, Erik." I say softly. His whole demeanor changes and he looks away. He sighs before he answers.

"I hate the way they spoke to you, Ellie. I just can't help it. You're not a piece of meat. You mean the world to me." He speaks softly. My anger fades and my heart melts. I groan.

"Erik, you can't fight every man that makes a rude comment or a smart remark towards me." I point out. He squeezes his eyes shut for moment, like he want's to say something but he's restraining himself. Instead he walk past me and towards the entrance of the Fort.

"Let's go, it's almost fully dark and I don't want to be caught out here in the middle of the night. There could be werewolves lurking about." He states. I snort at his comment, and begin to follow him.

"Those things are a myth, Erik. They aren't real." I argue. He glances sideways at me, that mischievous glint slowly returning to his eyes.

"You sure about that?" He challenges me. I hold his gaze, raising a brow at him.

"Yes."

A smile tugs at his lips, "We'll see." He murmurs. The sun was almost gone, just a few more minutes and it would be completely dark. I take out a torch and light it. Thankful that Whiterun wasn't much further. We could make out the outlines of Dragonsreach from the Fort.

The walk to the gates was a quiet one, thank the Gods. No skeevers, bandits, or wolves ready to attack us. The guards open the gates for us and we enter the quiet little town. Usually around this time, everyone closes up for the day and makes their way to the Bannered Mare for drinks and laughs. We head straight to the Inn to speak with Hulda.

I open the door and just as I expected, everyone is surrounded by the fire with a drink, laughing at something someone said. Mikael is in the corner singing Ragnar the Red, while looking the women up and down. I roll my eyes and smile, I missed his place. Hulda spots us immediately.

"Erik, Ellie!" She calls as she steps from behind the counter to greet us. She takes one look at our bloody armor and sighs. "You too have been busy. I'm sure Mralki will throw a fit when I write him and let him know how his kids showed up to my Inn a bloody mess." Mine and Erik's eyes bulge out from our head.

"Wait, please don't tell my father. I'll do anything, Hulda!" Erik begs with his hands up in surrender. Hulda let's out a long hearty laugh.

"Anything, eh?" She eyes Erik and smiles. "Then accept a discount on your room tonight, will you?" Erik gives her a warm smile. There are three kinds of people here in Skyrim. The evil people that prey on the innocent, the kind people that try to help others, and everyone else. Ms. Hulda is one of those kind people that tries to help people, Divine's bless her.

He sighs, giving in and smiling, "If you insist, Ms. Hulda."

"All but one of our rooms are booked for the night, will it be alright if you two share a room?" She asks as she walks back towards the counter.

"Yes ma'am, that's fine." I answer before Erik can spout any nonsense.

"Eleora, look at you! Even under all of that filth, you can see you've clearly grown to be quite the beauty. I'm sure you have many suitors jumping at the chance to be with you." She smiles as she looks me up and down.

"Between me, and Erik we actually do a pretty good job of running off said suitors." I smile triumphly. She laughs at my comment.

"Is that so?" She says as she chuckles and eyes Erik. I look at Erik too. Wait- is he blushing? "Erik you've grown at least three more inches and gained twenty pounds of muscle." She gushes, Erik's blush deepens. "I'm sure you have to beat the ladies away with a stick." She looks at me, "Do you help chase away his suitors too Ellie?" Erik snorts and looks away.

"No, If anything she helps them." He pouts quietly. Hulda's smile fades a bit.

"Well excuse me for wanting a sister." It's my turn to pout.

"Yeah." Erik says quietly as he looks away.

"Ah, I see." She says cryptically. Is there something going on here that I'm missing? "But enough of that, I'll show you to your rooms." She says as she grabs a key from behind the counter. She leads us up the stairs and opens the door for us. There's a large bed, that could fit two people easily. A chest, and closet for our equipment and supplies. A balcony that over looks the entire Inn, and wash basin in the corner. "It's yours for a day." She says as she hands Erik the key and exits the room to let us get comfortable. Erik and I set our weapons on the floor, and put away our belongings in the chest.

"Alright, I'm going to go downstairs and say "hi" to some familiar faces. I'll let you get cleaned up first." He tells me as he grabs a few gold coins from his pouch. "When you come down, I'll come get cleaned up." He's now standing at the door, his back facing me.

"Alright," I answer him. "I won't be long." I say as he walks out, shutting the door behind him. I begin to undress, stripping off my armor, and giving it a quick wipe down, then tucking it away in the corner. I strip out of my underclothes too, and stand completely naked in the room. I pour water from the large vase into the bowl and begin wiping myself down with a cloth. It felt good to wipe away all of the dirt, blood, and sweat from today. I unwrap my bandages and examine my arm, it's completely healed. For some unknown reason I've this uncanny ability to heal extremely quickly. Ever since I was little I would scrape my knee, nothing serious, and it be completely healed within a few hours. The only people that know are Mralki, and Erik. Just a barely noticeable scar is all that's left on my arm. When I'm done washing myself, I slip into my blue dress, and tighten the leather corset. I put my boots on and grab the coin pouch before letting my hair fall down my back in pretty curls. I catch a glimpse of myself on the shiny vase and I feel pretty.

I make my way downstairs and find Erik sitting on one of the benches near the fire, speaking with Sinmir, I only catch some of their conversation.

"The security in Whiterun is terrible. Shameful, is what it is." He takes a gulp of from his mug. Erik stares into the fire, a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

"Is that so?" He asks Sinmir. I could tell Erik is just messing with him. I've known him long enough to tell when he's being serious and when he isn't.

"The guards in the city are all lazy, and undisciplined. Things need to change." His voice booms. "Commander Caius." He snorts. "Walks around Dragonsreach like a preening rooster." He says leaning forward towards Erik. Erik raises his brows at Sinmir. "I could do his job blindfolded!" Sinmir pounds his chest and takes yet another drink. Erik chuckles softly and takes a drink of his mead too.

"Well, well, well…" My back stiffens at Mikael's too eager voice. "Look who's here. The most beautiful woman to ever walk Nirn!" Mikael says while swinging his arm around my shoulders. It takes every ounce of willpower to not roll my eyes, let alone punch him.

"Aww, what's wrong Mikael? Carlotta's still not giving you the time of day?" I ask annoyed, and cross my arms. His eyes trail up and down my body like a snake, and he smiles.

"Carlo-who-a?" He grins. This time I actually do roll my eyes and sigh. "How old are you now, Ellie?" He asks with a wolfish grin.

"Eighteen about to turn Nineteen." I answer him suspiciously. He bites his lip and his eyes glaze over.

"By the nine…" he whispers to himself. "Young enough to still be a virgin, old enough to become a wife." He says quietly, forgetting that I'm standing right next to him. "You are still a virgin, right? I can only imagine how tigh-" Mikael is pulled away from me before he can finish his sentence. A seething Erik now standing between me and the tipsy, flirtatious bard.

"I believe that's none of your damn business, Mikael." He says quietly. People glance at the commotion but don't care for long. This is just another typical night at the Bannered Mare. If at least two brawls didn't happen per a night, I'm sure that would concern them even more.

"Punch him in the face!" A voice that I'm pretty sure belongs to Carlotta yells out in the background.

"Ah," Mikael says when he recognizes who shoved him. "Erik the slayer." He says enunciating every syllable. "Erik the Brother." He says in a taunting tone as his eyes flicker towards me for a moment. I notice Erik's hands ball into fists. Mikael grins, and turns to start another song.

Erik sighs and turns to me. "Are you alright?" His expression softens and he gestures to the bench. I take a seat and he sits next to me.

"Of course I'm alright, you think a lousy bard is going to bother me? I can take care of myself, Erik." I say slightly annoyed. Erik doesn't say anything, instead he chugs the rest of his drink. I hear a blonde woman that's sitting in the corner at a table by herself, snort. I choose to ignore her.

"Saadia wake up, dear!" Hulda shouts to one of her new girls. A pretty Redguard woman perks up and answers.

"Yes mum." She says before making her way towards me and Erik. Her eyes land on Erik and her whole demeanor changes. Her hips sway a little more, and she smiles a flirtatious smirk at him. "What can I get you? Hungry, tired, or just plain thirsty?" She purrs. I try my best not to laugh.

"I need two mugs of mead." Erik responds to her nonchalantly. He doesn't seem to notice or pick up on her not so subtle flirting. This man is absolutely daft. Saadia nods and leaves to retrieve our drinks.

"How many drinks have you've had?" I ask Erik. He shrugs and crosses his arms, looking everywhere but me.

"I don't know maybe five or six." He says as his eyes land on the fire. "Hulda is being very generous." Is all he says. I look away and frown. Why is he being so distant? What's his problem? Saadia returns with our overflowing mugs of mead. She hands Erik his with a warm smile, and practically shoves mine to me. She spills a little mead on my dress. Before I can say anything, Erik grabs the rag from her apron and begins patting my leg. "You should be more careful." Erik says dryly. I look up at Saadia and my anger melts when I see her face. Her eyes are sad, and she just seems lonely. I can't help but feel sorry for her. Her eyes meet mine and something unreadable flickers in them.

I smile, "It's alright. I'm sure it was an accident." I say warmly. Erik hands her the rag and doesn't say anything else. Gosh he's in a crabby mood.

"If you need anything else, just let me know." She turns to help another patron.

"Seriously, Erik… what's your problem?" My tone sharp as a blade. When I look at him, his eyes are closed. The bastard is asleep. I elbow him and immediately regret it. He hasn't changed yet, his armor sends a dull pain up my elbow. Erik's lids fly open and his gaze falls upon me.

"Huh?" He says drowsily. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Go to the room, get cleaned up, and go to bed." I demand. He frowns at me and pouts.

"Why are you so mean to me, Ellie?" He whines like a child. I stare at him in disbelief, the idiot is drunk. I groan and massage my temples.

"Gods help me." I mumble to myself. "Come on, Erik. Let's go to the room." I say softly as I grab his arm and put it over my shoulder. Erik is one of the largest men I've ever met, and with his great size, comes a great weight. He groans and rests his hairy chin on my head. Really?

"My mead." He whines, now putting his full weight on me. My knees start shaking and I frown.

"I'll get it." My voice strained. With great difficulty I reach down and grab the mug. I hand it to a now happy Erik. Mikael sees me struggling and walks over to us, chuckling.

"Did you need help, lass?" He smirks at the image before him. Somehow Erik finds his balance and gets in Mikael's face.

"Don't touch me or her." He growls. That's it. I've had enough of this nonsense. My anger doubles my strength.

"Erik! Go to the fucking room and go to bed! I'll be there shortly." I bark. I turn to Mikael. "And you," I point, "leave me alone or so help me, I'll smash your teeth so far down your throat, the next time you take a shit, it'll be smiling at you!" Laughter erupts from somewhere in the Inn.. I'm still pretty sure it's Carlotta. Erik snorts at my threat to Mikael. His smile quickly disappears when my icy glare falls on him.

"That's a lot of tough talk from a wench like you." The Nord that snorted earlier speaks up. She doesn't look at me, instead she just take a sip from her mug. Erik's eyes widen and he takes a step back from me.

"What do you mean 'a wench like you?'" I say, keeping my tone even. I'm absolutely seething with rage now. I'm frustrated with Erik, and Mikael's unwanted advances towards me, now this lady? No, I'm not having it. Everyone in the bar stops what they're doing, all eyes on us. The woman let's out a melodic, hearty laugh.

"Aye lass, a wench like you. A bed warmer that's probably never held a weapon in her entire life." The woman explains. She's obviously new in town and didn't see me walk in earlier.

"It's your funeral," Erik chuckles. Mikael elbows Erik and joins in on the laughter.

"Would you like a coffin or a burial urn?" Mikael adds on to Erik's joke. They both laugh together. Oh, now they're friends?

"Oh please, this I have to see." The Nord says skeptically. She takes off her chest piece and her gauntlets. She throws her coin purse on the table. "One hundred septims says I can knock you on your ass and put you in your place." She bets, her face serious. I throw my coin pouch on the table. Of coarse, I don't have a hundred septims in there, but she doesn't know that.

"A hundred septims says I'll bring you down a notch or two." I cross my arms and give her an even glare.

"You're on." I roll my head until my neck pops. This is just what I need.

"Uthgerd the Unbroken." She says as she cracks her knuckles. "That's the name of the warrior that'll teach you to respect your superiors." I bring my fists up to my face and we begin to circle each other. Erik is leaning against a post, with his arms and legs crossed. A drunk grin on his face as his eyes follow me.

"We'll see." I mumble to myself. She comes at me with a powerful overhand punch with her left hand. I quickly dodge it by leaning to the right. Her swing causes her to fall forward a bit. I take the chance to give her a light punch on her face with my right fist. She shakes it off easily and swings her left elbow at my face. I jerk back my head just in time to avoid her blow. The Nord lets out a roar as she swings with her right hand in the same motion. I block it with my left forearm and punch her harder with my right hand. She stumbles back into the table. For a split second she stares at me dumbfounded. Surprised that I was holding my own, that's the moment she knew she made a terrible mistake. She wipes her bottom lip with her thumb and looks at it. Her eyes land on me again when she sees the blood. My hands are still up near my face. I sniff, waiting for her to make her next move. She launches herself at me, aiming to wrap her arms around my waist and tackle me. I plant my feet and catch her, wrapping my arms under her breast and pick her up. Using her momentum, I throw her back over my shoulder with a yell. We fall back on the hard wooden floor, I know it hurts her more than me. I quickly recover and I'm back on me feet in no time. She arches her back and rolls on the floor, her mouth in the shape of a "O" from the pain. She moves to her hands and knees, breathing hard.

"Quit playing with her, and finish her!" Sinmir cheers with a raised mug. There are hollers from the other patrons. I can even hear Erik's slurred cheers.

Uthgerd slowly stands up and faces me, a sneer on her face. I can see her attack coming from a mile away, I put all of my power into an uppercut and she falls back like a sack of flour. The crowd that gathered around us erupts in cheers. I check to see if Uthgerd is still breathing. She's fine. Hulda asks Saadia to get the Nord to her room. I take my winnings and look at Erik who has a crooked grin on his face. I can't be mad at him for long. Mikael starts to walk over to me, and stops in his tracks when I glare at him. After what he just saw, he raises his hands in surrender with an apologetic smile and quickly turns the other way.

"I knew you could do it, lass!" Erik chuckles. I look for my mead and notice that's it's empty. My shoulders droop.

"Erik…" I groan. He shrugs, clumsily standing from to his full height.

"Payback for the sweetroll." He declares. I shake my head with a grin, and help him up the stairs, and to our room. I close the door behind us.

Erik sheds his armor and wipes it down, stowing it away in the corner. He sloppily wipes himself down getting water all over the floor. I groan and bring a chair over. I usher him to sit down, thankfully he doesn't put up a fight. I gently wipe him down, making sure he's thoroughly clean. When I peek at his face his eyes are closed. I put a shirt on him and lead him to the bed. He falls asleep before I can take his boots off. I study him for a moment. He's calm and peaceful, when he's asleep he looks so young. I smile, happy that this day was coming to an end.

The gentle tunes of a lute from downstairs drifts through the doors. I open the doors to the balcony that overlooks the fireplace and sit in one of the chairs under the huge Elk head. I open a bottle of mead that Mralki had packed for Erik and I, and listen to the beautiful tune that Mikael plucks from the strings. Despite being a lousy man, he's a decent bard. I close my eyes and rest my head against the back of the chair, letting his tune carry me away.


	3. Chapter Three

I wake up on my own- in bed? Wait- the last thing I remember was listening to Mikael's lullaby. Sometime during the night, Erik must've woken up and carried me to bed. I turn and reach out next to me. The bed is empty. Erik must be up already and downstairs. The sound of rain hitting the roof, makes me want to stay in bed. But I know better. We have a quest that we need to see through. I push the furs off of me and walk over to the wash basin. Saadia must've came in, thrown out the old water and refilled the pitcher with fresh water for me. I pour some into the bowl, and wash my face. Instead of my iron armor, I want to put something on that's a little more light, and easier to move around in. One of the bandits we looted from had a full set of hide armor that I liked, so I decided to keep it.

I make my way downstairs, and find Erik at the counter speaking with Hulda. He has a plate of eggs, and sausage in front of him. Hulda notices me and smiles.

"Come on over, dear. Take a seat and I'll get you some breakfast." She says as she walks into the kitchen. I take a seat on the stool next to Erik.

"How'd you sleep princess?" I ask him with a grin. He smiles as he chews his food and washes it down with a swig of juice.

"Like a babe." He finally answers me. I chuckle, resting my elbows on the counter.

"Hulda was just replaying our night for me last night." He says, pushing his eggs around on his plate. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun." He says dryly.

"Me? You!" I gesture at him. "You drank my mead." I accuse him. He smiles at that.

"You body slammed a poor Nord woman." He counters. I raise a brow at him.

"In my defense, she started it, and you and Mikael were being instigators." I elaborate. Hulda returns with a plate similar to Erik's. I immediately dig in. I didn't realize how hungry I was. When we arrived last night, we didn't get anything to eat, we just started drinking.

"Are you even tasting it?" Erik jokes. I give him a gentle shove and open my mouth at him. "Ew, that's gross Ellie." He snickers. I swallow my food and giggle.

"I'm sorry, I thought you liked "seafood." I laugh at my own joke. Erik rolls his eyes.

"Ha-ha, good one." Sarcasm drips from his voice. After we finish our breakfast we decide to head out. We head back up to our room and pack everything backup. I grab the knapsack and pull the strap over my shoulder, before tying my cloak securely around my shoulders.

"Ready?" Erik asks. I nod and we head back downstairs. Hulda waves goodbye to someone as we walk up to the counter. She looks at us with an unreadable expression.

"Aren't you two heading to Helgen?" She asks, her brows furrowed with concern. I frown and Erik answers.

"Yes, ma'am. We're heading there to pick up a case of Vilod's juniper mead for Pa. Why?" He asks, his shoulders tensing up. Hulda shakes her head.

"It could be nothing, but, there are rumors going around that there's been suspicious activities of legion patrols wandering the area." She informs us. Huh, that's weird. Why would the Imperials be lingering around Helgen? It's just a small town. They don't trade, or produce mass amounts of weapons or supplies.

"They're probably just moving positions and decided to rest in Helgen. Helgen is a fairly defensible area, having stone walls and massive gates." Erik shrugs and brushes it off. Something in my gut is saying that he's wrong. No, there's definitely more to it than that. "Alright Ms. Hulda, we'll be off. The bill, please." Erik smiles and gets his coin pouch ready. Thanks to my winnings last night, our pouches are a little bit heavier. Hulda dismisses us with a wave.

"You two get out of here, and hurry home before Mralki has a cow." She smiles at us, her eyes shining with kindness. I smile back, Erik however, isn't having it.

"Ms. Hulda, please. I'm not taking no for an answer." He says keepng his tone even. He crosses his arms. So does Hulda. Erik lets out a sigh. "Fine. Here." He says reaching into his pouch and counting out coins. I'm tipping your girl five septims, and donating fifteen septims to the Bannered Mare." He ties his coin pouch back on his belt. Hulda sighs as she reaches for the gold.

"Just like your father... " She says quietly as she locks the gold away in the strongbox. "You two, please be careful. Gods bless you." She calls out to us as we walk out of her Inn.

"May I have a moment of your time, Ms. Agondray?" I turn and see the Nord I fought last night. Uthgerd the Unbroken. The first thing I notice is her black eye. "I just wanted to apologize for assuming that you were some tavern whore." She says with an apologetic smile. "If you ever need any help while you're out adventuring, I would love to come along and join you on your journeys." She says as she bows her head and pounds her chest. "It seems I've still a lot to learn."

"Uthgerd, it would be my honor to have you accompany me sometime. If I ever need someone to travel with, I'll let you know." I say with my shoulders back and a bowed head. She nods at me.

"Also know that you've a friend in me. Until then." She bows and disappears further into the Inn.

I close the door behind me and follow Erik down the stairs. I pull my hood over my head and continue to follow Erik to Belethor's General Goods. I mentally groan.

"Wait, do we have to go in there?" I whine. Erik sighs.

"Yes, Ellie. We have to sell off a lot of the stuff that we looted." He answers me sternly. I lean against the post under the sun roof, staying out of the rain.

"Okay then, I'll just wait here. You go on ahead, I'll wait." I say and smile at the young guard standing by the post. His back straightens and he coughs. "I'll just chat with the guard." Erik rolls his eyes.

"Ellie, if you go inside with me, we'll get better deals." He urges. I uncross my arms and groan.

"Fine. But I'm going to complain the entire time." I warn him. He stops and looks at me.

"As opposed to the rest of the time?" He asks with a grin. I punch him on the arm and smile.

"Ellie! You know I bruise easily..." He pouts. I chuckle and gesture towards the door.

"Go on. The faster we get this over with, the faster we can leave." I insist. He reaches for the door and holds it open for me. I look inside and see Belethor leaning against the counter looking bored. When our eyes meet, a nasty grin forms on his face. Ugh. Erik ushers me inside and closes the door before walking up to the counter. I make it a point to stand behind Erik and hide from the Breton's beady little eyes.

"Welcome to Belethor's General Goods!" I take a peek from around Erik's shoulder. "Welcome indeed." He winks at me. I slowly slide my head back behind Erik.

"Thanks Belethor." Erik says as he walks up to shake the man's hand. "We got some loot to sell." He states. Belethor's shoulders droop, but just barely.

"Please, do look around, I'm sure we have something you want." He says ignoring Erik. "Everything is for sale my friend, you need visit no other shops today." He proudly declares.

"No, no. We're just here to sell today." Erik says, his voice firm. Belethor nods and leans against the counter.

"I assure you, I'm prepared to make any deal." He says to Erik, but looks at me. I swear this man is the most frugal, and conniving skeever I've ever met. He even looks like one, with his low ponytail being his tail.

Erik and the Breton begin their bargaining, throwing their gold and loot on the counter. Every now and then Belethor glances at me, and smiles. I pretend to not notice him, and look the other way. Finally, they come to a conclusion. Erik is now walking away with about five hundred more gold than what we had about thirty minutes ago. Erik shakes his hand and thanks him.

"Belethor, it's been a pleasure." Erik says stiffly. He can't stand Belethor almost as much as me.

"I was happy to help." He grins. "I'd even buy one of your relatives if you're looking to sell." Belethor grins at me. My hands ball up into tight fists. He glances back at Erik and suddenly pales. I can't see the look on Erik's face, but I'm sure he's super angry. "Ha ha ha… that's a little joke." He coughs nervously. Erik turns and ushers me out of the store, still glaring at Belethor. He shuts the door a little hard and turns to face me.

"You managed to scrape five hundred septims, from that copper-pinchers claws, Erik." I say smiling, "I'm impressed." He beams a smile at me.

"You know what's even more impressive?" He asks. I tilt my head at him.

"What?" I ask.

"You managed to keep your mouth shut and not kill the man." He laughs, we begin walking towards the main gates.

"Aye," I pretend to swoon. "One of the hardest tasks I've ever faced." I grin. Erik chuckles and shakes his head.

"I bet."

"You've tried mercenary work? It might suit you." Amren stops to tell Erik.

"For the hundredth time, Amren. No." Erik says continuing to walk past him. I chuckle at Erik's frustration and the annoyed look on his face. His scowl seems to deepen when we reach the gates. We see two Alik'r warriors being reprimanded by a guard. They spot us walking by and one of them stops me.

"You there. We're looking for someone in Whiterun, and will pay good money for some information." He says to me. Erik stops and listens with me.

"Who are you looking for?" I ask annoyed by these fools.

"A woman- a foreigner in these lands. Redguard, like us." He explains. "She is likely not using her true name. We will pay for any information regarding her location." He looks at his cohort and then back to me. "We are not welcome here in Whiterun, so we will be in Rorikstead if you learn anything." Mine and Erik's back stiffen. That's our home. We don't want any trouble in our hometown. They mentioned she was from their homeland. Maybe she's a criminal?

"Why are you looking for this person?" I ask, wanting to know more about the situation.

"It's none of your concern. All you need to know is that we are paying for information." It takes everything in my power to not laugh in his face. Like gold would ever persuade me to harm an innocent. "If that doesn't interest you, feel free to walk away." He says. And with that Erik and I both turn on our heels at the same time and walk out of Whiterun. We cross the bridge and head down the twisted path, towards the Whiterun stables.

Erik stops and turns to me. A smile on his face and a light in his eyes.

"Me and Pa have been planning this for a while, we wanted to surprise you." He says. "We have enough to buy a horse, Ellie!" He reveals. My eyes widen and I'm speechless. Erik stares at my shocked expression and laughs. He grabs my hand and leads me over to the horse stall. There's a black mare that's already saddled, standing under the shade. Our eyes meet and there's an instant connection. I slowly walk up to her, our eyes still locked. It's almost like we can see each others souls. And they're one in the same.

"We'd like to purchase a horse." Erik walks up to the man, sitting on the chair while eating a piece of bread. He stands up and offers his hand to Erik.

"Skulvar Sable-Hilt." He says proudly. "And sure, we've got the fleetest steeds in all of Skyrim." Erik shakes the man's hand, tells him his name, and looks at the horse in front of me.

"How old are your horses?" He asks the stable hand.

"None of 'em's older than nine, and the youngest is six." He answers Erik honestly. "Now, the horse I got for sale is seven years old, but in fine health. She's got a lot of spirit too, that one." As if she knows the stable hand is talking about her, she bobs her head up and down, and paws the ground. Erik doesn't make a face but I know what he's thinking.

"I want her, Erik." I plead. She sniffs my hair and shakes her mane out. I giggle and watch her, fascinated by her natural charisma.

"We've taken to calling her Queen Alfsigr, or just Allie for short. I expect you can name her anything you like once she's yours." He says to me as he watches the horse with tender eyes.

"Allie is perfect." I smile at him. He looks at me and returns the smile, a twinkle in his eyes. Erik is still studying her. I reach for his arm and stare up at him. "Erik, please." I beg as I squeeze his arm. Something in his eyes melts and he gives me a quick smile.

"Alright." He says quietly. I let go and clap before walking back to Allie. He focuses his attention on Skulvar. "Here's my offer…" he says as they walk further away to talk. Allie looks down at me, her ears twitching.

"I'm going to take such good care of you, Allie. I promise." I say as I pat her neck. She lowers her head until her forehead is at my chest, and gently pushes her face into my breast. I hug her and scratch her chin.

"You ready, lass?" Erik asks me happily. I turn to face him and nod. I don't know what to say, my heart swells with joy. I throw my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek over and over.

"Thank you! Thank you so much." I say in between the kisses I plant on his cheek. He wraps his arms around me tightly and smiles warmly, as his eyes close.

"Aye, Ellie. You're welcome." He says softly. He slowly unwraps his arms from around me and I rush back to Allie. He takes off his backpack and loads it on her. "Hop on, lass. Let's ride to Helgen." He says, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. I reach for the horn of the saddle and freeze. By the nine, Allie is huge. Erik bursts out laughing and watches me struggle to get on Allie. When I finally make it into the saddle, I stick my tongue out at him. I remove my foot from the stirrup, and lean forward so Erik could lift himself up. He mounts Allie like an old pro. I sit back down, trying to fit myself in the saddle with Erik. But my thighs and ass weren't having it. No matter how much I squirmed or tried to wiggle my way in, we couldn't fit in the saddle like how we used to as kids.

"Erik, the saddle isn't big enough for the both of us." I say turning my head sideways to try and get a better view of him.

"Eleora…" He says, sounding almost pained. "J-Just give me a second." He says breathless. Oh no! I hope I didn't hurt him or anything. I try twisting to look at him, but he puts both hands on each of my shoulders and holds me still. I could've sworn I caught a glimpse of him, and he was as red as an apple.

"Gods help me…" he mutters under his breath. He lifts himself up and over our supplies. He's now sitting more on Allie's romp, instead of the saddle.

"Erik, what's wrong?" I ask now a little sad. Erik nervously clears his throat.

"Nothing, lass. We're just not as small as we used to be." He says and I swear I hear a tremble in his voice.

"Ready?" I ask him.

"Yep, let's get a move on." He says, his voice sounds better. I wait for him to wrap his arms around me, but he doesn't.

"You're not gonna hold on?" I ask. He doesn't answer immediately.

"Are you going to gallop the entire way there and push poor Allie?" He asks me. He's right. Now that we have Allie, we have a little more time on our hands. I gently dig my heels into Allie's side, and she eases into a very slow trot.

We pass by the Palegia farm, waving at the farmers as we trot by, and marvel at the Honningbrew Meadery. When we come to the cross roads we take a right and follow the gorgeous stream up river.

"The trees," Erik yells over the sound of Allie's hooves and the sound over the running water. "They're beautiful here." I agree, closing my eyes and welcoming the sun. The rain completely stops and my heart is full. As we follow the winding, stone path closer to Riverwood, the foliage becomes thicker and more green. It's absolutely breathtaking. Right before the bridge, I pull Allie to a halt. Erik's chest hits my back hard, but I don't care.

"Ellie, are you alright?" Erik asks concerned. When I don't answer him, he leans forward and examines my face. He follows my line of sight and sees the cottage that sits just at the river's edge. That's it. That's home. I can't stop staring at the wooden roof shingles, or the stone walls. I don't even realize Erik's hands slide over mine, still holding the reins. He guides Allie over the bridge and closer towards the pretty cottage. I can see myself sitting under the tree, reading a book by the running stream. I see Mralki, Erik, and some of our close friends visiting, sitting under the roof at the picnic table. We're eating and laughing, and just having fun. Erik slows us to a stop. We see a sign that has the name of the home, Whitewood Lodge. It's a pretty name. And just beneath the name, the price.

Fifteen thousand septims.

My heart drops and I look away. Erik seems to sense my sudden change of mood. His hands gently squeezes my shoulder.

"It's beautiful, Ellie. One day it will be yours. I promise." He whispers into my ear. I smile and place my hand over his. I will work myself to the bone for this house. Every single drop of blood, sweat, and tears will all be for my home.

"Let's get to Helgen, Erik." I say with a newfound resolve. I kick my heels into Allie's sides and we trot through the quiet, peaceful, and beautiful Riverwood.

There's an inn called, The Sleeping Giant Inn, with the picture of a snoring giant on their sign. I think it's cute, it makes me smile. There's also a smithy and the Riverwood trader. This place has everything I'd ever need to be happy. Erik and I make it to the other end of town, and pick up the pace. Allie is now cantering alongside the river, I stare at our running reflection in the water beside us.

Life is good.

As we press on, light snowflakes begin to falls all around us. I stick my tongue out trying to catch some. Erik laughs at me and taps me on the shoulder, pointing over my shoulder at three stones.

The Guardian stones.

We both hop off of Allie and walk closer to the stones. We examine each one of them and both decide to pray to the warrior stone, not thinking much of it. Suddenly, the constellation on the stone lights up, and emanates a light that shoots out from the top and into the sky.

"Whoa!" Erik and I exchange wide-eyed glances and then look back at the stone. "That was crazy!" I exclaim. Erik is still quiet. An odd thunder sound shakes us. I look to Erik who's now looking up the sky, confused. "What in Oblivion was that?" I ask him. Erik's eyes widen again and runs towards Allie leaping on her in a single bound. He holds his hand out to me.

"Ellie! Let's go." I run and grab his arm, he swings me on to Allie with ease. We're now racing towards Helgen. I now see what captured his attention, there's a cloud of black smoke that was hidden behind the trees and rocks. It's coming from Helgen.

"Heeyah!" Erik roars, pushing Allie to run faster. We can see the gates to Helgen, and approach them fast. Allie stops suddenly and rears up whinnying loudly. Erik and I fall off of her, landing hard in the dirty snow, before she runs off. Something has spooked her to her core.

Another loud thundering noise seems to shake the ground. We look up into the sky and see black wings pumping from behind the gate. It can't be… a- a…

Dragon.

A dragon, with scales as black as ebony, and eyes as red as blood flies into the sky. I can't move. I can't scream. All I can do is watch in horror and wonder, as the giant winged beast flies away. Erik is in front of me, but I don't see him. He's talking, but I don't hear him. He slaps me across my face. That brings me back. I shake my head and look at him.

"We need to search for survivors, Ellie!" He picks me up from the ground by my arm, and stands me straight. When he deems me well enough, we make a run for gates and push them open.


	4. Chapter Four

We push the large gates open and I'm immediately taken aback. It had been such a long time since Erik and I had been to Helgen. Mralki brought us here many times as kids to visit Vilod and his family. We would run around, using the buildings to play hide and seek with the other children.

Now, everything is destroyed and on fire. The houses are in ruins, the stone parts of the buildings are painted with scorch marks, and the wooden buildings are still glowing with embers. The keep is the only thing left standing. The heat from the burned down town melts the snow all around us.

Erik and I immediately begin running frantically through the town, yelling out for any survivors. Suddenly Erik spots a foot poking out from behind a boulder next to the wall and points to it.

"Ellie, look!" He yells. We both rush towards the person. We when we get there, the sight is devastating, and the smell, sickening. When we get closer to the boulder we see that it's just a foot missing from the rest of it's body. But that isn't what causes me to double over and puke my breakfast out. Hiding further behind the boulder, was two burnt corpses. The only thing I could tell from the bodies was that they were a woman and child cowering in the corner. The woman was cradling the child close to her chest. That was it. That was all I could tell. I couldn't tell if they were Nords, Bretons, Redguards or Imperials. I couldn't determine the gender of the child, or the age of the woman. Their skin, their hair, their clothes- everything was burned off, leaving only a shiny gloss over their burnt pink and white bodies. Tears streak my face as I gag and throw up again. Erik comes over to me, rubbing my back trying to soothe me. This image will always haunt my dreams for as long as I live.

"Fuck…" Erik whispers as we walk towards Vilod's house. A new wave of emotions overcomes me as we walk closer to the burnt home. Vilod is- was one of Mralki's oldest and dearest friends. How are we supposed to tell him that his friend is dead, let alone that we saw a dragon. A dragon!

"Erik…" I say quietly, speaking for the first time since we arrived. "That was a- a dragon." My voice still soft. Images of the demon's glowing red eyes stare at me in my mind.

"I still can't believe it…" Erik croaks, he enters the burnt house and looks around with sad eyes. I climb in through the opening in the side of the wall and notice an open knapsack. Sticking out of it was a leather journal and couple of bottles of Vilod's juniper mead. I kneel next to the bag, and reach for the journal, reading a few entries.

"... there are normally a few Imperials here and there throughout Helgen, but lately there have been waves of them migrating in. Something big is going to happen. I must find out what they have planned. For Hamrod's sake, I need to warn my pig-headed Stormcloak and keep him out of danger…" a flashback of a young boy, smiling at me plays in my mind. Hamrod was Vilod's son. Despite his father being all for the Empire, Hamrod must've chosen to side with the Stormcloaks. I continue reading and turn the page to the next entry. "They're planning an ambush! They somehow managed to figure out the location of a Stormcloak patrol at Darkwater Crossing. That's where my idiot son is stationed… Gods please let that fool be safe. If not, I'll somehow manage to free him and we'll use the underground passageways, under the keep to escape. They lead out to the caves just outside the main gate." My heart leaps at the mention of the of the underground passageways. They had a chance to escape! There was hope.

"Erik!" I call out to him as I pack the journal and grab the bottles of juniper mead, stuffing them into my knapsack. Erik comes running from the other side of the house.

"What? What is it?" He asks with his hand on is weapon, and a concerned expression. I explain to him what the journal had said and we sprint to the caves that Vilod mentions.

We enter the cave, taking a moment to let our eyes adjust to the darkness. I look down and see blood covering the ground. That's definitely not a good sign. As we walk deeper into the cave we notice a pile of bones piled high in the corner. There were a few human bones, but it was a majority of deer skulls, antlers, and smaller critters. That either meant trolls or bears. I'm hoping for neither. We round the corner and see a man curled in a ball, covered in dirt and soot, gripping his sides in pain. I rush over to him and gently roll him on his back. This man was a Stormcloak soldier. He opens his eyes and groans.

"What? Shor's bones…" He says weakly he stares up at me. "Am I dead? Are you an angel of sovngarde?" He asks reaching for my face. I grab his hand and gently squeeze it.

"No, soldier. I'm no angel. You're alive." I say as I dig around in my bag for a healing potion. I lift his head and pour it little by little in his mouth. He slowly but surely gains his strength back.

"Need to get… Riverwood… tell Gerdur…" He says as he drifts off to sleep. I look up at Erik and frown.

"We need to get to Riverwood and find Gerdur." I say quietly. I examine the man in my arms and push strands of dirty blonde hair out of his muddy face. What happened to this poor soul? Erik lifts him over his shoulders and we start for the entrance of the cave. I run ahead to search for Allie. Poor horse… we haven't even had her for a whole day and she's already terrorized. I find her munching on a patch of grass near the Guardian stones, and quickly lead her back to Erik and the Stormcloak soldier. Erik and I carefully load him onto Allie, he slumps forward in the saddle but we're sure he won't slide off. He mumbles incoherent things as we make our way back to the little village. Erik and I are only able to make out a few words like, "Ulfric," "escape," and "Dragon."

As we approach the quiet town, an elderly woman and her son argue about something that she saw. I walk up to the two people and gently clear my throat. They stop talking, their attention now falling on me.

"Excuse me, but do you know where I could find Gerdur?" I ask politely. The young man stares at me for a short moment before answering.

"Over there," he points at the lumber mill. I look and and notice a man cutting logs. "She's probably on the other side gathering firewood." He answers me, his eyes never leaving my face.

"Thank you, kindly." I say as I nod to the woman and the man. I look back to Erik and gesture over to the lumber mill. We cross the little bridge beside the gate and round the corner of the mill. Sure enough we spot a pretty Nord woman leaning against the fence, staring at the water rushing by.

"Gerdur?" I ask softly, not wanting to startle her. She turns her head to look at me, smiling.

"Yes?" She asks. Her smile falters when she sees the soldier on the horse.

"Ralof?" She cries as she rushes towards Allie's side. Ralof's eyes open and he lifts his head from Allie's neck.

"Gerdur?" His voice is small at first, but when the woman's face becomes clearer and his surroundings become familiar, he snaps to attention. "Gerdur!" He exclaims hopping off of Allie and hugging the woman, spinning her around. It makes me smile and reminds me of Erik and myself.

"Brother! Mara's Mercy, it's good to see you!" She says with tears in her eyes.

"Gerdur…" Ralof begins, but his sister cuts him off.

"But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured…" She rants. Ralof now cuts her off in a gentle tone.

"Gerdur, I'm fine. At least I am now." He says giving her another hug, and smiling at me.

"Are you hurt? What's happened? And who's this? Some of your comrades?" She asks after breaking the hug.

"Not comrades yet, but friends." He says as he nods at me and Erik. "I owe them my life, in fact." He states as our eyes meet. Before I can protest he speaks again. "Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news of Helgen will reach the Imperials…" He asks his sister. Her frown deepens.

"Helgen? Has something happened?" She pauses for a moment before continuing. "You're right. Follow me." She says as she begins to walk away. "Hod!" She yells at the man that's splitting logs. "Come down here a minute. I need your help with something!" She shouts up at him. His head snaps up an he directs his attention towards Gerdur when it's safe to look away from his work.

"What is it, woman? Sven drunk on the job again?" He chuckles. Gerdur sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Hod, just come here." She feigns annoyance, but I could see the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. The man finally notices Ralof.

"Ralof!" He says shocked to see the man. "What are you doing here? Ahh… I'll be right down." He says as he hastily climbs down the lumber mill.

"Uncle Ralof!" A young boy named Frodnar exclaims. He gushes over his uncle, asking him question about how many Imperials he's killed and asks to see his axe. Erik chuckles at the eager boy's tenacity. Ralof is patient with him, and hugs the young lad, speaking with him for a bit as Hod makes his way over to us. Gerdur 'shoos' him away to watch the Southern road for any Imperial soldiers. Frodnar whines, wanting to talk some more with his Uncle. Ralof encourages him to listen to his mother. The lad gives him one last hug, before turning and running towards the southern road to keep watch. When he's out of earshot, Hod speaks.

"Now, Ralof, what's going on? You three look pretty well done in." Hod crosses his arms and waits for Ralof to answer. Ralof takes a seat on a large tree stump before he tells his tale.

He explains to us about the how the news about Ulfric was true. The Imperials managed to ambush them outside of Darkwater Crossing two days ago. And how they stopped in Helgen and lined them all up at the headsman's block, ready to end it all right then and there. Gerder was furious and had tears in her eyes.

"The cowards," she says under her breath. Ralof frowns and crosses his arms. He continues by stating that they weren't even going to give Ulfric a fair trial. That Ulfric had committed treason by fighting for his own people. Suddenly his eyes grow wide and distant as he recalls a terrible memory. Erik and I exchange a knowing glance, as we continue to listen quietly.

"But then, out of nowhere… a dragon attacked!" Ralof shutters. Gerdur and Hod stare at Ralof like he had grown a third eye.

"You don't mean a real, live…" Gerdur asks, her brows creased with worry. She glances at me and Erik for confirmation. We both nod with grave looks on our faces. Gerdur sighs and looks down at the ground, millions of questions running through her mind.

"I hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur…" Ralof begins, but his sister interrupts him again.

"Nonsense! You and your friends are welcome to stay here as long as you need too." She says giving us a quick smile. "Let me worry about the Imperials." She tells her brother with a gentle tone. She turns to me and Erik, "Any friend of Ralof is a friend of mine. Stay as long as you like. If there's anything else you need, just let me know." She offers to us.

Before we turn to walk way, she grabs me by the arm and leads me closer to the river. Erik watches us curiously as he moves to stand near Allie, and hold the reins. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my brother." She says as she surprises me by wrapping her arms around my neck, and hugging my tightly. I hug her back just as tight. "You and your husband are always welcomed here. Always." She says as she let's go of me and holds my hands.

"Oh, Erik?" I say as I glance at Erik, our eyes meet for a brief moment before he looks down to pet the mare. "He's not my husband. He's like my brother." I explain. Gerdur's eye's light up even more and she gives me an odd smile, like she has an idea.

"Oh, I just assumed…" She trails off. "I know that my family is already in your debt, but there is one more thing you could do for me. For all of us here." She explains to me. "The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose." A worried look twists her pretty face. "Riverwood is defenseless… We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can. If you'll do that for us, the entire town of Riverwood would be in your debt." She asks me with a pleading look. I look at Erik and meet his inquisitive gaze before turning back to Gerdur.

"Of course, I'll help." I say without a second thought. Gerdur lets out a breath that she was holding, and smiles a smile of relief, her shoulder visibly relaxing.

"Thank you, friend." She says as we walk back towards the group. She walks towards a chatting Ralof and Hod, but I stop to speak with Erik. He looks down at me, still petting the ebony fur.

"What was that all about?" He asks quietly. I fiddle with one of the bag's pockets.

"She just wanted to thank us, and she asked for one more thing." I pause to meet his curious stare. "She wants us to go to Whiterun, warn the Jarl of the dragon and to ask for soldiers to defend Riverwood." I explain to him. Erik nods and a fire is now lit in his eyes.

"Of course we can! I mean it's right there on our way back home. There's no time to waste. We should head out immediately. People's lives are depending on us." He announces.

"Wait!" Gerdur calls over to us. We stop what we're doing and turn to face Gerdur. "Please meet us at the Sleeping Giant so we can replenish your supplies. It's the least we can do." She begs. I glance at Erik, he's already staring at me, waiting for me to decide what we should do. I return my attention to Gerdur, my shoulders relax and I smile.

"Sure." She gives me a bright smile and clasps her hands together.

"Okay! We'll meet you there in fifteen minutes." She says as she tugs her brother off somewhere. Hod sighs and turns to Erik and I.

"You two go on ahead. I have to put a few things away, and I'll catch up." He says as he walks back to the mill. I look at Erik and catch him with a scowl on his face. I frown and tap his shoulder.

"Erik, what's wrong?" I ask. His grip on the reins tighten and he begins to walk away.

"Nothing." He walks across the little bridge to get to the inn, with Allie in tow. I let out a huff and rub my temples with my fingers… his attitude is really starting to piss me off. I take a moment to calm myself, staring at the river. After a while, I trudge after them and make my way to the inn.

I see Allie tied to the post outside and make my way up the steps. When I open the door, the first thing I notice is Erik in the corner drinking by himself. I ignore him and walk over to the counter.

"Can I get an ale, please?" I ask the bartender. He nods and presents an ale in front of me. I pay him and as I turn I accidently bump into a woman.

"Watch it! Hey, you're that visitor that's been pokin' around." She says as she eyes me up and down. I frown and stare at the Breton.

"What? No, I just got here." I explain. "Sorry, for bumping into you by the way, it was an accident." We're around the same height, the Breton and I. She eyes me up and down and opens her mouth to say something but Gerdur cuts her off.

"Delphine, it's okay. She rescued Ralof. We're here so we can buy a few provisions for her and her brother for the journey to Whiterun." Gerdur smiles warmly as her arm wraps around my shoulder. I smile back at her warmth. Is this what it feels like to have a sister?

"Whiterun? Why? Is that where you live?" She now asks suspiciously. Her whole body tenses up, like something is wrong.

"No ma'am, I live in Rorikstead. I live at the inn with Mralki and Erik. They're like my family." I explain to her. Her shoulders relax, but only a little.

"Well why are you going to Whiterun then?" She asks still wanting an answer. I'm not entirely sure if I should tell her. I don't want to scare her. Gerdur suddenly speaks up, after glancing around the room to make sure nobody is listening to us.

"You probably won't believe this, as crazy as it sounds, but she's on her way to Whiterun to warn the Jarl about the dragon she, her brother, and my brother saw." She whispers quietly. Delphine's eyes widen and she looks at me.

"Is this true?" She asks quietly. I nod my head, a grim expression on my face as I recall the evil red eyes in my mind. Delphine's expression turns as grim as mine. She looks to her barkeep and shouts at him.

"Orgnar, give Gerdur and her friend here whatever they need for free." She says as she turns on her heel, and walks to her room, mumbling obscenities under her breath. She slams the door shut and I glance at Gerdur who is just as confused as me.

"That Breton is an odd one." Then she looks at me and blushes, smiling apologetically. "Not all Bretons are like that of course." I shake my head at her.

"Oh, I'm not a Breton. I'm a Nord. Albeit a very short Nord." I shrug at her. She chuckles and glances at something over my head.

"I'll go get everything squared away with Orgnar, you go have a seat." She ushers me away. I thank her and when I turn around my heart stutters. I notice a man in fine clothing sitting on one of the benches near the fire. And he's absolutely handsome. This man could give Thor, the God of thunder a run for his septims. His cerulean blue eyes watch the flames dance, as he contemplates things in his head.

"Oh looky there, Ralof is here. You should go talk to him." She says in a sing songy voice and gives me a light shove on the back. I slowly walk over to him as I drink in his features. Nords are known for their fair skin, light colored hair, and their height. Ralof was no exception. But something about him made me feel… different. I've never felt this way before. I just wanted to go over and be near him. I wanted to run my fingers through his shoulder length hair, and feel his short beard under my fingers. This feeling is completely foreign to me, and I'm not sure if I like it. His eyes flicker to mine as I approach him, a smile slowly appearing on his face as drinks me in. I can feel myself blushing as I sit next to him.

"Hey there, lass." He says, his usually booming voice, now soft and gentle. His voice caresses my ears, and makes my tummy tremble.

"How are you feeling, Ralof? You look much better." I point out. This is the same man that was covered in filth earlier, hiding under all that mud, soot and grime? This couldn't possibly be the same man. His eyes become softer, more vulnerable as he answers me.

"I'm doing fine. My body will heal. But… I can still hear the thunderous roars of that beast. And I can still hear the cries and screams of the people… the women and children that all suffered." He says quietly. My eyes fill with tears as I listen to him. "There was nothing I could do but run like a coward." I forget my feelings from earlier and wrap my arms around his shoulders, in an attempt to hug him. My heart bleeds at the sound of the agony in his voice. His shoulders are huge, they're broad, I can't exactly wrap my arms around him, but he still understands. He lifts his arm and wraps it over me with a small chuckle. He pulls me close to him in a tight hug, and he rests his cheek on my head. We stay like this for a couple of minutes before he releases me.

"Thanks, lass. Your hug helped heal me a little." He grins. I give him my best smile and I hear his breath hitch. His hand cups my cheek and he stares at me a moment longer before whispering very sadly, "...in another life…" and places a warm kiss on my forehead. I frown at him not understanding any of this, but I don't say anything. I remain quiet until Gerdur walks over to us.

"Look at you two, hitting it off." Gerdur beams at us. Ralof exhales a sad breath, and turns to his sister.

"Gerdur…" He says softly, giving her a knowing look. "Ellie needs to hurry to Whiterun and I need to be on my way to Windhelm. We both have duties to our people." He explains to her. Gerdur looks away and frowns.

"Here are your supplies." She says sadly as she hands me a bag with a few provisions. I stand and thank Gerdur for her kindness and turn to face Ralof. He smiles down at me, so many emotions swirling in his eyes. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do, so I reach up and bring his face closer to mine, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Farewell, lass. Take care of yourself and come back to Riverwood." He says softly as he gently strokes my cheek with his thumb. He lets his hand fall to his side and moves to the side to let me pass. I stride past him and towards the door, stopping just before I open it. I turn and look for Erik, but he's not where I first saw him when I entered. I open the door to inn and see Allie still tied up to the post. Frodnar runs up the steps to the inn.

"Frodnar." I call out to him. He stops and looks at me. "Did you see the man that was with us a while ago, did he leave?" I ask him softly.

"Aye, I saw him leave a little while ago, that way." He points towards the road to Whiterun. My eyes widen in alarm, that fool! Why would he leave by himself when it's so close to night time.

"Thank you, Frodnar!" I say as I rush and leap onto Allie. As I dig my heels into Allie's side to make her go, Ralof, Gerdur and her little family walk out of the inn. Ralof asks Frodnar what's wrong as Allie flies by. I can feel my chest ache a little as I steal a quick glance at Ralof. I probably won't ever see him again. I don't look back as Allie races towards Whiterun.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hola, muchachos! So, Ellie just experienced her first crush. And it seems Erik wasn't to thrilled about that. *Sigh* Poor Erik, Ellie just sees him as a brother. It's not like you can force these things, amirite? Lol I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I know it's starting off kind of slowish, but be patient young grasshoppers. Elle's adventure is only just beginning. Also would like to point out that this story is also on Wattpad. There you'll find pictures of who I would cast as characters! If you have any ideas, PM me and let me know and maybe I could post their picture as the chapter picture on Wattpad! :) Thank you so much.

Allie races past my dream home, and over the bridge. Erik. Idiot! Why did he leave without me? He knows better than to wander off alone. The green around us becomes less as we speed away from Riverwood, following the twisted path.

Suddenly, up ahead, I see a tall shadowy figure running from two smaller black ones. Wolves. Night time is rapidly approaching and I can't tell if that's Erik or not. Not that it matters, there is someone in trouble and they need my help.

I release the reins, trusting Allie to continue running straight as I ready my bow. I pull back on the drawstring, and take a deep breath as I aim my arrow. Everything seems to slow down drastically for a few seconds. I can hear nothing but my own heartbeat, and my own steady breaths. I release my arrow and watch it puncture one of the wolves rib cages, instantly killing it. I can now make out Erik's voice as he cusses out loud.

Erik turns and uses the opportunity to kick the last wolf in throat, grab it by the scruff, and bury his blade in between it's shoulders. Allie slows to a light jog as we approach Erik. When our eyes meet, a current of different emotions swim between us. I'm angry, and frustrated with him. Where as I get from him, the sense of pain, and- jealousy? I slide off of Allie and stomp over to him, grabbing him by the collar of his armor and lowering his face to mine.

"Explain yourself, now." I hiss. My eyes bore into his as I wait for my answer. Usually, whenever I get angry with him he keeps his calm and waits for me to finish my rant. Not this time. I see anger flicker in his eyes as he grabs my wrists and pushes me away from him. He turns away and continues walking. The flames inside of me grow bigger. I run ahead of him and shove him in the chest. "What is your fucking problem?" I shout at him. He growls at me and tries to take another step, but I step sideways to block his path. "I'm talking to you!"

"No, you're shouting at me, and I'm pretty sure half of Skyrim can hear you!" He roars angrily at me. "I left because there are peoples lives on the line right now, with a dragon on a the loose, and you want to sit in a tavern and be a whor-" he cuts himself off before he can finish the sentence, but it's too late the damage is done. I frown at him in disbelief. What in the world is he talking about? I wasn't being a whore.

"What in the world are you on about Erik? Why would you call me that?" I shout so the words can get past the lump in my throat. Erik's guilty eyes fall to the ground.

"While you were in there making googly eyes at that Stormcloak, I came ahead to warn the Jarl. Don't worry you can go back to him, I have this all under control." He says quieter this time through clenched teeth. Every word piercing me like they were daggers. I'm so confused. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but I blink them back. Hell no I wasn't going to start crying. Even if my bestest friend in the whole world, my brother, was calling me a whore and seething angry with me.

"I wasn't making googly eyes at anyone, Erik. He went through a lot! He watched as a demon burned down Helgen, and cut down innocent people, women and children, all slaughtered." I say angrily, almost shouting. "He was lying in that cave for Gods know how long, coming to terms with his death, as it waited for him on his doorstep, waiting to finally embrace him." I continue, my voice shaky. "If you tell me any man can walk away from that with his soul unscathed. I'll call you a bloody fucking liar. He has to live with those haunting memories, and listen to the screams of those dying people every time he closes his eyes before bed." Erik's eyes widen and he hangs his head in shame. I stare at him for a moment, letting my words sink in. "And where did you get this crazy notion that I was flirting with Ralof?" I ask in a much gentler tone.

"When you saw him, did you stutter for a second? Did you want to be by him? Did your heart ache when you had to leave?" He asks me, now staring deeply into my eyes. His gaze causes me to involuntarily gulp. I did feel all of those things with Ralof. But I mean, that doesn't mean I was flirting with him, or that I liked him in that way- does it? He takes my silence as his answer. "That's what I thought." He mumbles. He looks up into the starry night, his eyes the saddest I've ever seen them as the northern lights illuminate his face.

"H-how do you know how I felt?" I ask him warily, having a gut feeling I wouldn't like the answer. He's still gazing up at the stars, his eyes darting around from star to star as if he's looking for an answer among them. "Erik." I say softly. He lets out a shaky sigh, and his eyes land on me.

"I know how you felt because, I-" he pauses trying to scrounge up whatever courage he can find in himself. "Because, I feel all of those things with you." My heart stops, and I finally let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Somewhere deep down I have a feeling I've always known he felt this way towards me, I just didn't want to believe it because I can't reciprocate those feelings back. I take a step back and look at Erik. I mean really look at him. He's a handsome guy, kind, a great sense humor, a fighter, a- a friend. "Ellie…" He whispers as he slowly closes the distance between us. "Please, don't cry." He brings his hands up to my face, and wipes away the tears with his thumbs. I didn't even realize I was crying. I grab his wrists and stare into his eyes, trying with all of my might to feel something- anything! His eyes are filled with a hunger that I've seen countless times, I just didn't know what it was, I could never put a word to the intense emotion that filled his eyes whenever he looked at me most of the time. It was love. Romantic love. His lids close a little and his lips slightly part as he lowers his face closer to mine. Is he going to kiss me? I try to open my mouth to say stop, but I'm still in shock.

His lips graze mine, a gentle brush. And it feels wrong. All wrong. I close my eyes unable to move. He draws his head back to look at me, and then he goes in for another kiss. My lips don't move as his work into my mouth. Tears still sliding down my cheeks. His warm tongue brushes my bottom lip and it sends a jolt through me that gives me the motivation to pull his hands away from my face and for my eyes to fly open.

"We should probably be on our way to Whiterun." I say breathlessly, feeling awkward. His eyelids flutter open and he withdraws his wrists out of my hands.

"Yeah." Is all he says, before walking over to Allie and mounting her. He offers me his hand and swings me on behind him. He gives Allie a nudge in her side and we head to Whiterun. The ride to Whiterun is only a few minutes thanks to Allie, but those few minutes seem to take an eternity. An eternity filled with silence, and lingering thoughts.

The guards on duty recognise us from the night before, when we first arrived at Whiterun and let us through. We leave Allie outside the gates, and rush towards Dragonsreach.

We push open one of the big doors of Dragonsreach and rush up the stairs with an urgency, capturing the attention of an important looking Dark elf. I can hear part of conversation that the Jarl is having with whom I assume is his steward.

"I only council caution. We cannot afford to to act rashly in times like these." The balding Breton explains. The Dark elf unsheathes her sword and slowly begins stalking towards me and Erik.

"What would you have me do, then? Nothing?" The Jarl asks, irritation dripping from his voice. The Breton seems to pick up on the Jarl's irritation too and softens his voice.

"My lord, please." The Breton man begs. "This is no time for rash action. I just think we need more action before we react. I just…" The Jarl notices us as well, and interrupts his steward.

"Who's this, then?" He asks out loud, I suspect it's more to interrupt his steward to get him to drop the conversation they're having, rather than because he actually cares for who we are. The Dark elf stops in front of me and Erik, glaring at us. Erik's hand twitches towards his sword, but I hold a hand out to stop him.

"What's the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving any visitors." The Dark elf spits at us. I straighten my back, and pull my shoulders back as I answer.

"I have news about Helgen. About the dragon attack." I respond confidently. Her eyes widen and she sheathes her sword.

"Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on then, the Jarl will want to speak with you personally." She insists and ushers us towards the Jarl begrudgingly.

"It's alright Irileth, I want to hear what she has to say." The Jarl says calmly, urging me to go on. I feel slightly self conscious as the Jarl speaks directly towards me.

"A dragon destroyed Helgen. Gerdur is afraid Riverwood is next." I say quietly. The Jarl sits up in his throne.

"Gerdur? Owns the lumber mill, if I'm not mistaken… Pillar of the community." He says more to himself than to me. I mentally groan, this isn't about Gerdur. This is about the safety of Riverwood.

"The dragon destroyed Helgen." I speak a little more firmly and take step towards him. "And last I saw it was heading this way." I say and give him a worried look. That seems to do the trick, the Jarl now leans forward in his seat.

"By Ysmir, Irileth was right!" He mutters before turning to the Breton. "What do you say now Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?" He asks him skeptically. The Breton fumbles for the right words.

"My lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. It's in the most immediate danger. If that dragon is lurking in the mountains…" Irileth speaks up. I instantly like her way more than this Proventus fellow. Proventus' eyes widen in alarm.

"The Jarl of Falkreath will see that as a provocation! He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him!" The Jarl closes his eyes in frustration, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "We should not-"

"Enough! I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people!" He roars at the bewildered steward, instantly shutting him up. I like this Jarl more and more. Jarl Balgruuf turns to Irileth. "Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once." He instructs. Irileth's small smirk doesn't go unnoticed by me as she bows her head.

"Yes, my Jarl." She murmurs before turning on her heels to make the arrangements.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll return to my duties." Proventus says solemnly. I guess Irileth's smirk wasn't so well hidden as she thought. Or maybe she knew, she just didn't care who saw. Yep, I like her. The Jarl dismisses his steward and all of his attention is on me now. His eyes soften as soon as they fall on me.

"Well done, you sought me out on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it." He says warmly, before grabbing his war-axe and holding it out. "Here, take this as a small token of my esteem." I walk up to him and bow on one knee as I take his steel axe. I study the weapon in awe. The Jarl just gave me his axe. Shit… "There is another thing you could do for me." He says in a hushed tone. His voice captures my attention as I stare at him curiously. "Suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps." He says as he eyes me up and down and then glances at Erik. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard." He says as he stands and leads us to a different part of the massive building. "He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and… rumors of dragons." He says nervously. We approach a hectic looking Wizard rummaging through papers on his desk, completely oblivious to us. "Farengar, I think I've found someone who can help you with your dragon project." The Jarl says, startling the wizard. "Go ahead and fill her in with all the details." The wizard turns to face me and Erik.

"So, the Jarl thinks you can you can be of use to me?" He asks as he crosses his arms. I don't say anything, I just wait for him to continue. "Oh yes, he must be referring to to my research into the dragons. Yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me." He pauses for a moment. "Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not actually be there." He confesses nervously. I eye him suspiciously, if this means helping the people then, yes. Anything to make this problem go away faster.

"Just tell me what you need me to do." I demand with a new sense for adventure. The wizard grins at me and rubs his chin.

"You are eager to begin your adventure." He claps his hands together, "Excellent. The sooner begun, the sooner done, eh?" He says. Exactly, that is precisely how I feel. "I, ah, learned of a certain stone tablet said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow… a Dragonstone, said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, find this tablet, no doubt in the main chamber, and bring it me. Simplicity itself." He smiles at me. The Jarl clears his throat and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"You can leave first thing in the morning. It's late out, and Skyrim is dangerous place, especially at night." He says to me and Erik. "Come, our maids will show you each to a room." Two Wood elves curtsy to us and then lead Erik and I upstairs to our rooms. Erik and I exchange an awkward glance before we step into our separate rooms.

As soon as the woman leaves, and closes the door. My thoughts instantly swarm me and catch me off guard. Dragons. Ralof. Erik. This tablet. I fall to my knees and try to calm my breathing. I miss Ralof, even though I barely knew him. I miss my best friend- when he didn't want to stick his tongue down my throat. I feel so lonely. For the first time in my life, I feel as if I'm truly and utterly all alone.


	6. Chapter Six

I awaken to the familiar feeling of cold, wet cheeks. But this time I can remember my dream. I dreamt of Ralof, Erik, and the dragon we all saw at Helgen. We all fought at against it and during the intense battle, the dragon slaughtered both Ralof and Erik. Ripping them both to shreds. And there was absolutely nothing I could do to save them. I remember screaming so loud, thunder crackled in the distance, and the ground shook.

I lay a hand over my chest, and try to rub the aching sensation out. It's no use. The haunting feeling of loneliness lurks over me, carrying over from yesterday. No doubt that feeling isn't going to go away anytime soon. I sigh and rub my face. Time to get up, and start the day. I glance out the small window, it's still dark out, but instinct tells me that dawn is just a few minutes away. I quickly dress and make my way down to the main chamber.

Nobody else seems to be up yet, except for the castle staff of course. They're all buzzing about getting prepared for the day. I sit at one of the gigantic tables, and wait for Erik to make his way down. A pretty wood elf notices me and skittishly makes her way over to me.

"Would you like breakfast, my lady?" The little elf asks timidly. I give her a warm smile and nod.

"Yes, that would be lovely, thank you." The elf quickly turns on her heel and begins to scurry off to the kitchen. "Under one condition." I say, stopping her in her tracks. She turns back giving me a worried and curious look. "You let me help you." I smile. She shakes her head profusely at me.

"That is not necessary, my lady. And it seems inappropriate." She says quietly. I frown.

"Come now, I'm not royalty or anything of the like." I protest and stand. She takes a step back and looks away deep in thought.

"But you are the Jarl's guest." Her voice barely a whisper, and her hands clasped together in front of her.

"And? I make my own breakfast all the time back at home. This will be fun, besides, I won't tell anyone." Before she can respond, I'm already walking past her and into the kitchen. She follows close behind not saying a word. We wash our hands and put aprons on.

As I mince dried elves ear, she carefully cracks a dozen eggs into a large bowl. That lonely feeling makes my shoulders tense. I initiate conversation with the elf.

"What's your name?" I ask hoping I sound polite enough. Her back slightly stiffens at the sound of my voice.

"My name is Nivae." She stammers.

"Nivae." I say trying out her name for myself. "That's a beautiful name."

She tries to hide her red cheeks from me, a small, shy smile tugging at her lips. "Thank you, my lady."

"My name is Eleora. You can call me Ellie, if you'd like." I pause for a moment. "No, I insist. Call me Ellie." I chuckle. I scoop up the finely minced leaves and bring them over to the bowl and dump them in.

"Ellie," she says softly. My heart warms at the thought of her getting more comfortable with me.

"Yes, ma'am?" She raises a brow at me. Then the the thought dawns upon me. Nobody probably addresses her as "ma'am," being a servant and a wood elf. Elves aren't exactly loved here in Skyrim. The Mer folk tend look down upon each other as well, Bosmer (Wood elves), tend to be treated the worst. She blinks a few times before gathering her thoughts.

"Can you stir the eggs, as I go down into the larder to get the sausage?" She asks me, still a little thrown off by my kindness. I grin at her and scoff.

"Can I stir the eggs? Pshh, you're looking at the best "egg stirrer person" this side of Skyrim." I jest. She lets out a cute giggle, quickly covering her mouth and glancing around with wide eyes.

"Thank you," she mutters as she scurries away.

Nivae and I share a few more laughs, as we prepare breakfast. I learn that she has been working here at Dragonsreach for about two years, and is in love with one of the guards. I tell her all about Ralof, and Erik, and this stone tablet that Farengar wants me to fetch. We quickly become good friends and it's- refreshing. When we're done gossiping, we make our way to the tables. My blood freezes as I see Erik sitting at one of the tables, watching me curiously.

I straighten my shoulders back and walk over to him, he isn't going to ruin my day.

"Good morning, Erik." I say dryly.

"Ellie." He nods, and then thanks Nivae as she sets a plate down in front of him. She bows and glances at me before walking away. He digs into his breakfast and stops as he takes a bite of the eggs. "You made the eggs, didn't you?" His question more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. Why?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I'd be able to recognise your cooking anywhere." He simply says. We eat our breakfast in silence. The Jarl finally emerges from the stairs and makes his way over to me.

"Lady Eleora." He smiles. I stand and curtsey to him. But he quickly dismisses my greeting with a wave of his hand.

"No need for that. I hope breakfast was suited to your liking, as you have a long day ahead of you." He beams at me with hopeful eyes. I smile and nod.

"Yes, my Jarl. The elf, Nivae, I think is her name, is an absolute delight. This is the best food I've ever tasted." I say a little louder than normal. I quickly glance at the kitchen and see Nivae poking her head out from the kitchen, beaming at me with a bright smile. The Jarl chuckles.

"Thank you, lass. I'll have to reward my staff later for being on top of things, and working hard." He responds as he crosses his arms. I look at Erik and notice his plate is empty and he's standing as well. Now that we're both done, we should probably be on our way.

"Well, my Jarl," I begin with a sigh, "we should probably be heading for Bleak Falls Barrow now that we're done with breakfast." I insist. He nods at me uncrosses his arms. He offers me his hand and take it.

"Aye, be careful, lass. Danger lurks deep within that place. Bring me back that tablet. That's an order." He commands as we shake hands.

"Yes sir." I say as Erik and I start for the Barrow.

Erik and I ignore each other for most of the trip to Bleak Falls Barrow, and that breaks my heart even more than if we were fighting. I wonder if his mind is going as crazy as mine. Stop it, Eleora! I need to get my priorities straight and focus on the task at hand. One thing, and one thing only matters for the time being- retrieving that damn tablet.

Erik and I take in the giant, foreboding building as we cautiously walk up the steps. There are three bandits outside that we quickly dispose of, and take whatever gold and potions we could find before we lurch towards the ginormous doors of Bleak Falls Barrow.

We carefully make our way inside and notice the lit candles. They're still fairly tall, not melted down. Someone recently lit them. That means we're not alone. Erik seems to notice too and readies his bow. The inside of the building is what I expected it to be. Enormous, and in ruins. Just one look and anyone can tell that this ancient place, was once a beautiful and impressive building. I wonder what our ancestors used this place for.

We lurk forward, hearing voices drifting from deeper inside. We see a light illuminating the back wall of the room. Erik hides behind some rubble and aims his bow as I stealthily move to hide behind a pillar. I only hear two voices. I glance at Erik, he blinks twice to confirm my suspicions, there's only two people. I ready my dagger and nod. Erik shoots his arrow and a strangled cry fills the room as the other person cusses.

"What the fuck?" The person screams as I hear him unsheathe his blade. His footsteps become louder, as he makes his way towards the entrance. I have to time this right. "Who's there?" He yells out, as he approaches the pillar I'm hiding behind. I leap out in front of him, shoving my dagger up into his head. He doesn't even have time register what's happening, as I quickly yank my dagger out and spin, decapitating him. His headless body falls to it's knees, falling forward as his head rolls away. Erik and I loot the bodies, and grab whatever we can find useful from the camp they made. I make quick work of the chest, and I'm rewarded with several potions. Erik and I glance at each other, nodding to signal that we're both ready to proceed deeper into the cave-like ruin.

We walk down the steps of the tunnel-like hallway, walking into a few cobwebs along the way. Large, branch-like vines cover the walls and the floors, that are littered with dead skeevers and a number of burial urns. I walk ahead of Erik to scope out the path, as he follows quietly behind checking all of the urns for any treasure. The lit candles and blazing fire pits didn't go unnoticed by me and Erik, there are definitely still other people in here.

As I walk further, I hear the sound of a sword being sheathed. I quickly press myself closer to the wall and hear the man hum to himself. I peek my head from around the corner and see a Nord staring at something intently, through the doorway. He shifts his torch into his left hand and walks further towards the middle of the room, not knowing that he's being watched. I stick close to the walls and watch him walk towards a lever, he stops just before the lever and studies it for a few more seconds, before deciding to pull it. Nothing happens. He steps away when suddenly bolts shoot out from the ridge above the door in front of him, and from the sides of the doorway behind him. He lets out a piercing scream and quickly falls to the floor. I cautiously make my way over to him and check for a pulse. I don't find one.

I glance at the lever and then towards the barred gate. I notice the symbols above the stone doorframe and observe them. There is a man with a symbol in his mouth on the floor in front of me. I glance from him, to the ruined part in the middle of the other two similar men.

Snake. Snake. Whale. Erik nudges me with his elbow, and nods to three pillars standing along the wall. I wonder… I walk over to the first pillar and notice that it has three sides, each have a different animal on a side. I reach my hand out to touch one of the pillars, it rotates on its own. I glance from the stone men, to the pillars and make the connection. I turn the first two pillars to snakes and the third one to a whale. I make my way back to the lever and look at Erik, nodding towards the wall. He gives me a challenging stare. I angrily point to the wall, urging him to move out the line of fire from the poisoned bolts. If I'm wrong about the pillars, then I'd die and he can find another way forward to the tablet. I hold his stare, until he finally gives up and grudgingly walks towards the wall, watching with an angry glare. I relax a little knowing that he's out of the way, and pull the lever.

The bars shoot up, opening the passage for us. I shoot Erik an "I told you so look," and he rolls his eyes with a smirk. Something inside my heart swells and I smile. It feels just like old times. We enter the next room and I immediately spot a book on a table, with a potion next to it. I read the cover of the book, "Thief." Intrigued I grab the book and stuff it into my bag to read later. I can almost hear Erik's thoughts. "Bookworm!" I look back at him, he is still carefully checking around for anything I might've missed. I grin to myself, before turning towards the spiral staircase that leads further into the ground.

I almost scream when a skeever jumps out to attack me, followed by it's two little buddies. With my quick reflexes the little bastards were dead before they had the chance to try and leap at me a second time. I hate skeevers. I glance back up the stairs and see Erik hunched over, with one hand covering his mouth and the other bracing himself against the wall. The bastard was laughing at me. I make a quiet humph sound and continue forward.

I crouch towards the next room of the massive underground building, and spot a table in the middle of the room. Everything is covered in cobwebs. Everything. I notice a little bottle filled with a black substance. I remove the cork and waft the fumes towards my nose. Poison. I quickly recap it and place it in my bag. A small lump of web on the table captures my attention. I use my knife to cut the web, and see a small scroll hidden beneath. I take the ancient looking scroll and see the letters of the word 'Fireball,' glow a fiery orange. This might come in handy later, so I put that in my knapsack as well. It's crazy how much my bag can carry. I walk around the table and notice a few candles aren't lit. I debate if should light a torch on not. If there are more people here, they'll see the glow of the light before I round a corner. I decide against lighting a torch and use the darkness in my favor.

I slide down the edge of the walls, sticking close to the shadows. I hear a smashing sound come from behind me and still myself. Not even a second later, I hear two knocks. The signal to let me know that Erik was okay. I roll my eyes and fight the smirk that tugs at the corner of my mouth. He can be so clumsy sometimes.

"Is someone coming?" I terrified voice calls out. I frown and wait for Erik to hurry, he seemed to hear the man too, because he's beside me in the next second. "Is that you Harknir? Bjorn? Soling?" He cries out. Erik and I frown at each other, slowly making our way forward. We round the corner and are met with thickest web we've ever seen, covering the only entrance into the next room. I get out my sword and begin hacking away, as Erik readies his bow and faces the opposite way, watching our backs in case this is a set up.

I finally manage to break through the dense web and push myself through into the next room. I'm met with largest spider egg sacks I've ever seen in my entire life. My attention turns to a Dark elf, that's squirming around in the web. The elf managed to get himself tangled up. "Quickly! Help me, before it comes back!" He says as I make my way over to him. Suddenly the light that was shining in through the ceiling turns black. My head whips up, and I see the largest frostbite spider I've ever laid my eyes on. I fall flat on my back as it lands, hovering above me. It's sharp black stinger is protruding from its abdomen, and glistening with poison. I quickly roll to my right as it gets ready to strike me with its stinger. The dark elf is yelling bloody murder as I continue to roll around dodging the gigantic spiders stinger. "Ah! Help me! Don't let it come near me!" The elf cries. I refrain from yelling at him to shut up. Like, he's the one rolling around for their life under a giant death spider!

I notice blood dripping from what I would guess is it's side, and quickly thrust my blade into it. It let's out a pained screech and rolls over folding its legs into itself as I scramble to my feet. Erik leaps through the small opening in the web, rolls and quickly takes in the situation. He glances at me breathing hard, Arvel caught up in the web, and the giant wounded frostbite spider. In the next second he's loosening arrows at the eight legged beast. It screeches and hisses at Erik's arrows and moves around trying to avoid him. It scatters up the side of the wall and looks like it's about to leap at Erik. I rush to push him out of the way as I also pull out my dagger. Everything seems to happen in slow motion, I shove Erik out of the way in time, and aim my dagger at the beady little eyes. The spider crashes into me and goes limp, falling on top of me. I close my eyes trying to think I'm at some sunny place, instead of being under a giant fucking spider.

"Ellie!" Erik exclaims. I hear him shuffling to get up, as he rushes towards me. He grunts as he pushes the spider off of me. "Ellie are you alright?" He asks, my eyes are still closed.

"Yes." I say quietly trying to keep my cool. "Just go check on that damn elf." I say not caring if the elf heard me. Erik hesitates for a moment, but I feel him leave my side to talk to the elf.

"You! You did it!" He exclaims. "You killed it. Now cut me down before anything else shows up." He barks at Erik.

"You're welcome, you little bastard." I whisper under my breath, as I continue to lie down with my eyes closed. The elf says his name is sounds familiar. Why does that sound familiar? This is the guy that those bandit's were talking about earlier, the one with some claw thingy. Erik seems to remember too. I vaguely hear him speak about the claw with Arvel.

"Yes, the claw. I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power your ancestors have hidden in here." He exclaims brightly. I can hear Erik hacking away at the thick web. "It's coming loose, I can feel it!" Arvel falls to the ground, laughing. "Sweet breath of Arkay, thank you!" He says breathlessly. I hear footsteps approaching me and finally open my eyes. Erik is standing above me looking down on me. He offers me a hand and even though I don't want to get up, I take it. He pulls me up with ease and I dust myself off. I turn towards the spider to retrieve my dagger and sword, when Erik growls.

"Shit!" I turn to see what he's cussing about and notice Arvel is missing. Son of a bitch… When I find that little elf, I'm going to ring his neck.

"Come on, he couldn't have gotten far." I say already running after him. Erik following closely behind. We run through the twisted hallway, the webs becoming less and less dense. We stop running as we enter a crypt. And I know for a fact that we entered a crypt, because there are rows and rows of dead, dried-looking bodies resting in their own little hole in the wall. A shiver runs down my spine as I take another step. I've always had this irrational fear of the dead coming back to life. When Erik and I were younger, Mralki would tell us stories about the dead coming back to life, called Draugr. I had nightmare for years. Years! I hesitantly walk forward.

As we walk further into the crypt I spot Arvel laying down on the floor. Why is lying on the- My eyes widen and I look around the room. Except nobody is in here. Just me, Erik, Arvel, and tons of other dead bodies. I gulp and take a step closer towards Arvel, my heart beating rapidly. I quietly kneel next to Arvel's body to check for any loot. I notice a stab wound on his stomach as I roll him over, making my shoulders tense. I open his sack and find a journal, and the golden claw everyone seems to be on about.

I thumb through the pages of his journal scanning it for any clues about how this thing works. All I find is things about his rash, and how many bar wenches he wants to "slay." I roll my eyes as I near the end of his journal. On the last page I read that the person he stole this from didn't know it was a key to the barrow. One sentence in particular captures my attention. "When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands." Hmm. I tilt my head trying to make sense of it all. When a moan from behind me makes my hair stand on end, and sends a chill down my straightened spine. I turn just in time to see a dead, shriveled corpse stalk towards me, with it's weapon hovering above it's head getting ready to pummel me.

It's glowing eyes are soulless as it stares angrily at me. It's broken jaw swings back and forth, hanging on by a few pieces of dark greyish flesh. I panic backing away crab style and raise my arm to cover my face. This is it. This is how I die. In a crypt, fetching a piece of rock, and then I'll have my body mutilated by the dead.

Just before the corpse swings it's greatsword down, arrow after arrow emerge from it's chest. It drops it's sword behind him, and it glances down at the arrows sticking out of it's chest. The light from it's eyes flicker, as it returns its attention back to me. The light finally goes out, and it falls in front of me, lifeless. I stare at it with wide eyes, waiting for it to move again. I don't even notice Erik, grabbing me by my arm and pulling me up to my feet. He shakes me hard, snapping me out of my shock.

"Hey! Get it together, Ellie." His voice finally reaching my ears. I look at him, his eyes filled with concerned. "What's wrong with you? Are you scared?" He asks accusingly. I feel anger bubbling up in my chest.

"No! I was just shocked. Those stories Mralki used to tell us seem to be more than just stories." I mutter as I walk past him and pick up my sword. "Let's go."

We push forward killing three more of those abominations. Each time I want to scream, and run away. But I have to prove Erik wrong. I'm not scared. Well, maybe I am. But I can't let him know that. We continue to delve deeper into the barrow, dodging swinging traps, killing skeevers, and killing even more draugr. For as long as I live, I am never, ever, coming back down into one of these damned things again.

The barrow becomes more cavernous, a stream of water runs through the cave. I pull the lever and another barred gate opens. We follow the little stream deeper into the cave and see a little drop off. I peek over the edge and notice another draugr patrolling the bridge. I look at Erik, and point down. He draws his bow, and walks towards the edge of the waterfall, and aims down. He spots the draugr and instantly kills it with a headshot.

The barrow starts to look like it did when we first entered. Root like vines, hugging the walls and covering the floor. We approach double doors, and push them open, trudging deeper into the sanctum. As we push open the doors, we're met with swinging blades and another three draugr. I don't feel as scared anymore as I once was. But I still don't want to go near another barrow, crypt, cave thing like this again.

We find another set of double doors and open them. As we enter, Erik and I freeze spotting the large door, with three rings and similar animal symbols like the ones we saw earlier on those pillars. Except these animals were different. A moth, owl, and a bear. In the center of the door was a golden circle that had three holes. I pull out the golden claw and line the talon up with holes. It definitely goes in there but nothing happens when I twist the key. I pull the claw back out and examine it. I stare at the key. "When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands." I say quietly to myself. I flip the claw over and notice three symbols on the palm of it. Bear. Moth. Owl. I glance back up at the door as a flashback of me rotating the pillars comes to mind. I reach out to the top ring and rotate it, doing the same for the other two rings, until it matches the symbols on the claw. I stick the key back in a twist.

A mixture of dust and dirt falls from the ceiling, and the deafening sound of stone rubbing against stone fills the air as the door slides down, opening the passage for us. I can't help the smirk that plays on my lips, as I continue up the stairs. I can hear a waterfall, and spot a large stone wall at the back of the cave.

Erik and I cautiously approach closer, when suddenly my head starts buzzing. I shake my head trying to focus. I stop and Erik looks at me confused.

"Do you hear that?" I ask quietly. Bats fly out from the ceiling, flying past us after I speak. Erik strains his ears to hear what I'm hearing. He shakes his head, and watches me with a furrowed brow, confused. We get closer to the little bridge, when the noise becomes a soft hum.

When we approach the staircase, the soft hum becomes louder. It sounds like men chanting. I turn to Erik who still looks at me confused. "You really don't hear that?" I ask annoyed. At first I don't believe him, but I've known Erik long enough to know better. He isn't lying.

I walk up the rest of the stairs, my eyesight blurring, and a blue light beaming from one of the symbols etched into the stonewall. The light tugs at my body, and the chanting becomes louder, putting me in a trance-like state. As I draw near the wall, I can feel a force tugging at something deep within my soul. The light becomes even brighter, as everything else turns black and blurry. The chant fills my mind, becoming so loud that I don't hear anything else at all. If Erik is calling out for me, I don't hear it. The glowing word beckons me towards it, the blue light radiates off it and towards me, enveloping me in its light and caressing my body, my very soul. It feels almost painful, almost. I've never felt more powerful than I do know. It becomes so overwhelming, and I feel so full that I feel like I'm about to burst. I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. Then, just like that, it's over and I'm down on my knees.

Erik flies by me, and smashes into the wall hard, slumping down and falling face-forward. In the next second, my sword is drawn and I'm facing a very ugly, mean, and powerful looking Draugr Overlord. I don't even think. I charge at him and dig my sword through his stomach, pulling it out, spinning, and slicing the back of his knee. He falls forward on one of his knees and I use the opportunity to plunge my sword between his shoulder blades. I twist my sword, until I hear a sickening crunch and jerk it out. He slumps forward, falling to the ground, not moving.

I run over to Erik and search for a pulse. I sigh, and relax when I find one and notice the steady rise and fall of his chest. That Overlord knocked him out cold. I walk back over to the Draugr and search it's body for the tablet. Nothing. I search the chest next to his coffin and don't find anything in there either. Then it dawns upon me that I don't even know what this thing looks like.

Something urges me to look in the coffin, and there I see a diamond shaped stone with golden etchings and ancient text on the back. If this isn't the stone tablet, then I don't know what is. I grab it and place it in my almost full bag.

I warily gaze at the wall, wondering what in oblivion happened to me. Whatever happened, it caused me to lose my senses, causing Erik to get hurt. But the power that I felt- that I still feel coursing through my veins, my soul, was extraordinary. My eyes fall to Erik's resting form. I frown and easily pick him up, and throw him over my shoulders. Holy shit. I quickly rush up the side of the stairs next to the waterfall, and make my way out of the barrow. I run until I come to the edge of a cliff, I take a deep breath before exhaling. Here goes nothing…

I jump and land on the ground without so much as a thud. Whoa. Erik doesn't even stir. I can get used to this newfound strength. I smirk to myself and continue to run for the silver glowing mouth of the cave.

It's night time, as I emerge from the cave. Cool fresh air, hits my face and fills my lungs. I've always loved the outdoors, but after being in that damn place- it made me appreciate the outside even more. I whistle for Allie, before I jump down the steep mountain side.

I'm now suddenly aware of how much heavier Erik is starting to become. Allie races around the mountainside and jogs towards me and Erik. I quickly throw him over Allie, using the last of my strength, and not feeling as powerful as I did before. Aww… I sigh before struggling to leap onto Allie and race back towards Whiterun to deliver this Godsforsaken tablet to Farengar.


End file.
